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»S5o^^^MR.  R.  E.  GOSNELt    ' 

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There  are  certain  matters  connected  witn  me 
history  of  this  province  in  relation  to  which  the 
name  of  the  late  Mr.  R.  E.  Gosnell  will  always  be 
"emembered  with  gratitude.  ^^  was  he  who  i^s^ 
nrenared  in  an  exhaustive  way  the  case  of  British 
Smbia  for  Better  Terms  from  the  Federa 
Government,  a  case  which  included  a  claim  for 
The  return  o  the  railway  lands  and  that  portion 
of  the  Peace  River  Block  lying  within  the  prov- 
?nce  He  founded  the  Provincial  Archives  and 
was  "the  first  archivist.  His  writings  preserve  a 
good  dea  of  political  history  which  otherwise 
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J.  H.  TURNER. 


A  HISTORY 


British  Columbia 


R.  E.  GOSNELL 

VICTORIA 
AUTHOR  OF  GENERAL  HISTORY 


COMPILED  BY 

THE  LEWIS  PUBLISHING  CO 


ILLUSTRATED 


THE  HILL  BINDING  CO 
1906 


INTRODUCTION. 

Writing  history  is  a  serious  undertaking,  and  not  to  be  thought  of  with- 
out long  preparation  and  minute  and  scrupulous  investigation.  If  a  person 
qualified  for  the  task  should  devote  ten  or  fifteen  years  exclusively  to  it  he 
might  produce  a  work  that  would  deserve  to  stand  for  the  West  as  Parkman 
stands  for  the  East.  What  follows,  therefore,  does  not  partake  of  the  dignity 
of  history.  It  is  merely  an  outline  of  events  and  conditions  prominent  in 
the  past  of  British  Columbia  from  the  very  outset.  Lack  of  time,  if  there 
were  no  other  considerations,  would  have  prevented  me  from  going  so  deeply, 
and  in  detail,  into  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
province  as  would  have  been  desirable  for  the  purpose  and  otherwise  have 
been  possible.  As  it  is,  with  the  assistance  of  friends,  I  have  been  enabled  to 
present  to  the  reader  a  certain  chain  of  facts  which  have  never  before  been 
presented  in  the  same  connected  form.  These  have  been  grouped  so  as  to 
leave  a  more  distinct  impression  of  their  order  .and  importance. 

There  is  not  much  that  is  new  to  the  student,  except,  perliaps,  the  arrange- 
ment. Regarding  a  country  about  which  so  much  has  been  written  in  a 
desultor}^  way,  it  is  difficult  to  more  than  collate  and  summarize,  without,  as 
I  have  intimated,  delving  for  years  among  the  original  sources  oi  our  in- 
formation. Hubert  Howe  Bancroft's  History  of  British  Columbia,  though 
characterized  by  many  imperfections,  performed  a  splendid  service,  and  indi- 
cated by  innumerable  references  much  that  will  be  exceedingly  useful  for  the 
real  historian  when  he  appears  upon  the  scene.  With  a  wealth  of  original 
material  at  his  disposal,  however,  his  own  use  and  treatment  of  it  were  not 
historical  in  that  sense  in  which  the  great  Bancroft  excelled.  The  late 
Alexander  Begg,  with  his  conspicuous  industry,  compiled  a  history  of  this 


IV1203909 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

province  that  is  valuable  in  many  respects,  but  obviously  lacking  in  workman- 
ship, analytical  skill  and  insight. 

To  avoid  comparisons,  I  make  no  pretensions  to  have  done  more  than 
is  set  out  in  the  foregoing,  and  that,  I  am^  avi^are,  imperfectly.  It  is  simply 
a  narrative,  or  succession  of  narratives,  that  a  journalist  familiar  with  an  out- 
line of  the  events  described,  niight  have  contributed  to  a  magazine  in  order 
to  convey  a  general  impression  of  the  past,  and  prepare  the  reader  for  a 
keener  appreciation  of  a  more  pretentious  work  with  the  details  faithfully 
and  artistically  filled  in. 

R.   E.   GOSNELL, 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Early  Explorations I 

CHAPTER  n. 
English  Buccaneers 7 

CHAPTER  HI. 
Later  Explorers 14 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Land  Expeditions  and  their  Outcome 36 

CHAPTER  V. 
International  Questions 51 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Fur  Traders  and  Gold  Seekers.  . 71 

CHAPTER  VII. 
A  Political  Outline 109 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Organization  of  the  Mainland 146 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Union  of  the  Colonies ^ 178 

CHAPTER  X. 
British  Columbia  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 224 

CHAPTER  XL 
Governors  and  Lieutenant  Governors  of  British  Columbia 253 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Material  Resources 273 

Appendices 299 


INDEX. 


Abbott,   Harry   B.,   385- 
Abrahamson,   John,    583. 
Adams,  George,   547. 
Albion  Iron  Works,  The,  394- 
Alexander,  Richard   H.,  490. 
Annandale,  Thomas  S.,  619. 
Armstrong,   Joseph    C,   624. 
Armstrong,  Thomas  J.,  654. 
Armstrong,   W.  J.,   323- 
Arthur,    Edward    C,    554- 
Ashwell,    George   R.,   605. 
Ashwell,  John  H.,  585- 
Averill,   Clarence   M.,    516. 

Baldwin,  George  R,  527. 
Barber,   John   G.,   406. 
Barnard,  George  H.,  525. 
Barr,   M.   J.,  405. 
Bate,   Mark,  335. 
Beasley,   Harvy   E.,   767. 
Beattie,   Martin,  427. 
Beckwith,   John   L.,   606. 
Bent,  J.  Howe,  632. 
Bird,   Harry,   464. 
Bird,   Robert   M.,   543. 
Bland,  James   W.,   441. 
Bland,   John   W.,   S9i- 
-Bole,  W.  Norman,  336. 
Bonson,   Lewis   R,  726. 
Boultbee,  F.  W.,  382. 

Bowe,  Herman  O.,  706. 

Bowes,  Joseph  H.,  492. 

Bowser,   William   J.,   378. 

Braid,   William,   570. 

Bray,   Marshal,   477. 

Briggs,   Thomas  L.,  688. 

Brown,  Hugh   A.,   577. 

Brown,  John  R.,  456. 

Brydges,  Samuel  M.,  688. 

Brydonel-Jack,  William  D.,  402. 

Buscombe,  Frederick,  674. 

Gamble,  Henry  J.,  578. 
Campbell,  Duncan,  437. 
Campbell,  George  W.,  697. 
Carey,   Joseph   W.,  471. 
Carlisle,  John   H.,   581. 
Carne,    Frederick,   357. 
Gates.  George  E.,  574. 
Caulfield,   John   J.,   759. 


Cawley,    Samuel   A.,   632. 
.  Cayley,  Hugh  St.  Q.,  m. 
Chadsey,   George  W.,  ^\^. 
Chipperfield,    George   J.,   384- 
Christie,   William,   530. 
Clark,   Robert,   657. 
Clubb,  William  H.   P.,  407- 
Clute,  John   S.,  Jr.,  440. 
Clute,  John  S.,  Sr.,  679. 
Coburn,  John   W.,  668. 
Collister,  W.  H.  R.,  394- 
Commercial  Hotel,  738. 
Cooke,  W.  B.,  493- 
Cooney,   Charles  T.,  750. 
Cowan,  George  H.,  667. 
Cowan,  Thomas,  722. 
Crease,   Edward  A.,  380. 
Cridge,  Edward,  563. 

Davie,  John  C,  699. 
Davis,   Lewis   T.,  469. 
Dean,  John,  438. 
Dickie,   Charles   E.,  481. 
Dougall,  James   St.  L.   M.,  433- 
Douglas,  James  A.,  340. 
Drake,   Montague  W.  T.,  496. 
Drake,    Samuel,   503. 
Drysdale,  William   F.,   557. 
Duck,  Simeon,  541. 
Duff,  Lyman    P.,  721. 

Edmonds,   Henry  L.,  415. 
Edwards,   Henry   C,  651. 
El  ford,  John  P.,  736. 
Elliot,   John,   704. 
Embleton,   Thomas,   467. 
Erb,   Ludwig  E.,   653. 
Erickson,  John  A.,  532. 
Ewen,  Alexander,   662. 

Fagan,  William  L..  418. 
Fawcett,  Edgar,  673. 
Fell,   Thornton,   589. 
Fletcher  Brothers,  347. 
Fletcher,   George   A.,   347. 
Fletcher,   James   H.,  347- 
Fletcher,  Thomas  C,  347- 
Fletcher,  Thomas  W.,  347- 
Fletcher,  William  R.,  348. 
Fortune,  William,   763. 
Foster,   George   M.,   43^. 


Vlll 


INDEX 


Fowler,  Samuel  S.,  501. 
Fox,  Joseph,  613. 
Fraser,   Fred,    571. 
Fraser,  J.  S.  C,  444. 
Frith,  Kenneth  C.   B.,  444. 
Fulton,   Frederick  J.,  377. 

Garrett,  Alexander  E.,  569. 
Gaunce,  William  G.,  500. 
Gibson,  John  A.,  505. 
Giflford,   Thomas,   534. 
Gillanders,  Milton  F.,  586. 
Gilley,   Walter  R.,  474. 
Gilpin,  Ranulph  R.,  756. 
Glover,   Frederick  R.,  424. 
Godson,  Charles  A.,  580. 
•    Goodacre,  Lawrence,  343. 
Gore,  John   C,   562. 
Gore,  William   S.,   358. 
Gosnell,  William.  749. 
Goward,  Albert  T.,  639. 
Graham,  John,  511. 
Graham,  O.  Allen,  627. 
Gray,  Johnstone   P.   M.,  439. 
Green,  Robert  F.,  364. 

Hall,  Frank  W,  616. 

Hall,  George  A.  B.,  536. 

Hall,  Richard,  555. 

Hamersley,  Alfred  St.  G.,  544. 

Hamilton,   Charles  R.,  488. 

Hamilton,  John,  751. 

Hammar,  Jeffery,   504. 

Hanna.  William  J.,  428. 

Harrison,    Eli,    509. 

Hart,   Frederick  J.,  718. 

Hart-McHarg,  W.,  482. 

Haslam,  Andrew,  553. 

Hastings,   Oregon   C,  764. 

Hayward,  Charles,  434. 

Haywood.  William  D.,  739. 
Heaps,  Edward  H.,  339. 
Heisterman,  Bernard  S.,  635. 
Heisterman.  Henry  F.,  62,^- 
Helmcken,  John  S.,  684. 
Henderson,  John  C,  620. 
Henderson,  Thomas  H.,  629. 
Hendry,  John,  359. 
Hibben,  James   P.,   350. 
Hibben,  Thomas  N.,  350. 
Hill,  Leslie,  319. 
Hogle,  John  H.,  770. 
Holden,  Donald  B.,  618. 
Honeyman,  John  A.  J.,  483. 
Home,  Adam  H.,  614. 
Home,  James  W.,  330. 
Houston,  John,  502. 
Hull,  John  R.,   548. 
Hume,   Clarence  B.,   389. 
Hume,  J.  Fred,  707. 
Hunter,  Gordon,  720. 


Hunter,  Joseph,  772. 
Hunter,  William,  497. 

Irving,  Paulus  A.  E.,  375. 

Jack,   Alexander,   600. 
Jack,  William  D.  B.,  402. 
Jardine,  Robert,  686. 
Jaynes,  William   P.,  637. 
Johnson,  Archie  M.,  459. 
Johnston,    William,   517. 

Keary,  William  H.,  705. 
Kennedy  Brothers,  412. 
Kennedy,  George,  412. 
Kennedy,  James,  429. 
Kenning,  Angus  W.,  478. 
Ker,  David  R.,  588. 
Kiddie,  Thomas.  531. 
Kilpatrick,  Thomas,  351. 
Kingham,   Joshua,   652. 
Kingston,  Charles  M.,  410. 
Kipp,  Isaac,  507. 
Kirk,  George  A.,  587. 
Kirkpatrick,   Thomas,  506. 
Kirkup,  John,  425. 
Kurtz,   David  G.,  537. 

LaBau,  David,  556. 
Ladner,    William   H.,   745. 
Lalonde,  C.  O.,  781. 
Lamont,  Peter,  540. 
Langley.   John   M.,   384. 
Law,  William  M.,  760. 
Lawrence,  J.   S.,  477. 
Lawrence,   William    M.,   401. 
Lawson,  James  H.,  455. 
Lay,  J.  M.,  529. 
Leamy,  James,   695. 
Lees,  Andrew  E.,  645. 
Leigh,  James,  6y6. 
Leigh,  James,  &  Sons.  676. 
Leigh.  Sidney  M.,  677. 
Leighton,  William   K.,  465. 
Lemon,  Robert  E.,  409. 
Lennie,  Robert   S.,  703. 
Lenz,  Moses,  468. 
Lewis,  Frank  B.,  389. 
Lewis,  Herbert  G.,  318. 
Lewis,  L.  A..  630. 
Living.ston,    Clermont,   72Z- 
Loewenberg,  Carl,  612. 

Macdonald.   William  A.,  524. 
Macgowan,  Alexander  H.  B.,  655. 
Macintyre,  Alexander  D.,  549. 
Mackenzie,  Archibald  B.,   379. 
Mackinnon,  John  McL.,  780. 
MacLeod,  Henry  F.,  368. 
Macpherson,  Robert  G..  491. 


INDEX 


IX 


Madden,    Thomas,  752. 
Mahony,  Edwin  C,  700. 
Mainwaring-Johnson,  Archie,  459- 
Maitland-Dougall,   James   St.   L.,   433. 
Major,  Charles  G.,  677. 
Malkin,   WiUiam   H.,  691. 
Malone,  John  J.,  778. 
Manchester,  George  H.,  366. 
Mann,  James   G.,  593. 
Marpole,  Richard,  704. 
Marvin,   E.   B.,  609. 
Mathers,  William  J.,  479- 
Maynard,  Richard,  399. 
McBeath,  Dave,  767. 
McBride,  Richard,  426. 
McCarter,  George  S.,  411. 
McCullouch,   William,  759. 
McCutcheon,  John,  622. 
McDowell,  Henry,  621. 
McGillivray,    Donald,    513. 
McGuigan,  Thomas  F.,  598. 
McGuigan,    William   J.,   611. 
McHarg,  W.  Hart,  482. 
Mcllmoyl,  James  T.,   348. 
Mclnnes,    Thomas   R.,   670. 
McLean,  Ernest  H.  S.,  416. 
McMillan,  Anthony  J.,  727. 
McMillan,  William  J.,  741. 
McMorris,   Daniel   C.,  431. 
McMurtrie,   Andrew   J.,   539- 
McMynn,  William   G.,  450. 
McNair,   Alexander,    779. 
McNair,  James  A.,  663. 
McPhillips,  A.  E.,  322. 
McQuade,  Louis  G.,  342. 
McQuarrie,   William   G.,  484. 
McRae,   Alexander,   599. 
Mellard,    Samuel,   748. 
Meston,  John,  723. 
Miller,   Ernest,  757. 
Miller,  Jonathan,  417. 
Mills,  Richard,  769. 
Milne,  George  L.,  327. 
Moresby,  William   €.,  617. 
Morley,   Christopher,   735. 
Morrison,  Aulay  M.,  546. 
Morrow,   Thomas   R.,   445. 
Muirhead,    James,    719. 
Munro,  Alexander,  692. 
Munro,   Charles  W,.,  495. 
Munsie,  William,  363. 

Neelands,  Thomas  F.,  665. 
Nelems,   Henry,  641. 
Norris,  Frederick,  381. 
North,    Samuel,    386. 
Northcott,    William    W.,    344. 
Northrop,  Edward  R.,  711. 
Nunn,  George,  461. 

O'Brien,  Martin  J.,  353, 
Oddy,   Benjamin   S.,   521, 


Odium,  Edward,  372, 
Oppenheimer,   Sidney   S.,   370. 
Ovens,  Thomas,  744. 

Palmer,  P.  L,  393. 
Palmer,  Richard   M.,   538. 
Paterson,  James,   395, 
Paterson,  Thomas  W.,  647. 
Peck,  John,  710. 
Pelly,  Justinian,  642. 
Pemberton,    Frederick   B.,   354. 
Pendray,   William   J.,   550. 
Perry,  Dallas  G.,  626. 
Peterson,  John,  523. 
Pither,    Luke,    514. 
Pittendrigh,   George,   369. 
Pitts,   Sidney  J.,  646. 
Poole,  Alfred,  547- 
Prescott,  A.,  738. 
Price,   Frank   H.,   533- 
Price,  W.  H.,  740. 
Proctor,  Arthur  P.,  559- 
Proctor,  Thomas  G.,  528. 

Quennell,  Edward,  457- 

Ralph,   William,  73i- 
Ramsey,  James,  774. 
Reece,  Jonathan,  499. 
Reichenbach,  Joseph,  644. 
Reid,  James,  462. 
Reid,  John,  635- 
Reid,  Robie  L.,  423- 
Rendell,  George  A.,  520. 
Robertson,  Alexander  R.,  320. 
Robertson,  David,  572. 
Robertson,  Herman  M.,  321. 
Robinson,   John   T.,   552. 
Robson,   David,   371. 
Roper,  William  J.,  782. 
Rose,  William  O.,  470. 
Ross,  Andrew  W.,  775- 
Ross,  Dixi  H.,  743- 
Ross,  Harrie  G.,  743- 
Ross,  John  F.,  68t. 

Salsbury,  William  F.,  725- 
Sampson,  John,  713. 
Sayward,  Joseph  A.,  345. 
Schaake,  Henry,  648. 
Schetky,   George  L.,   5i5- 
Scott,  J.  G.,  596. 
Scott,  John  M.,  415- 
Sea,  Samuel,  Jr.,  346. 
Sea,  Samuel,  Sr.,  567. 
Sehl,  John  J.,  397- 
Shakespeare,  Noah,  603. 
Shannon,  Thomas,  712. 
Shannon,    William,   446. 
Shiles,  Bartley  W.,  510. 
Skene,  William,  602. 


INDEX 


Skinner,  Robert  J.,  391. 
Skinner,  Thomas  J.,  696. 
Slavin,   William  T.,  558. 
Smith,  William,  615. 
Spankie,   James   E.,  352.* 
Spratt,  C.  J.  v.,  722,. 
Stanton,  Herbert,  610. 
Starkey,  Fred  A.,  460. 
Stemler,  Louis,  643. 
Stewart,  A.  M.,  408. 
Stewart,  Donald  M.,  739. 
Stewart,  Henry  A.,  715. 
Stewart,  John,  526. 
Stone,  John  A.,  458. 
Sulley,  William,  403. 
Sutherland,   William    H., 


771. 


Tait,  John  S.,  565- 
Tait,   William   L..  728. 
Tatlow,  Robert  G.,  365- 
Taylor,  Thomas,  567. 
Teague,  John.  334. 
Thompson,   Nicholas,   758. 
Thomson,  George,  522. 
Tomkins,   Belville,  558. 
Townley,   Thomas   O.,   733. 
Townsend,  Herbert  R.,  432. 
Trapp,  Thomas  J.,  753. 
Tuck,   Samuel  P.,  451. 
Tunstall,  George  C,  437. 
Tunstall,   Simon  J.,   683. 
Turner,  George,  714. 
Turner,   J.    H.,   485. 

Underbill,  F.  T.,  376. 
Upper,  Reginald  A.,  747. 


Urquhart,  George  W.,  390 

Vanstone,  Wesley  E.,  640. 
Vedder,  Adam  S.,  494- 
Vernon,  Charles  A.,  650. 
Vernon,  Forbes  G.,  693. 
Victoria  Chemical  Works, 
Vowell,  Arthur  W.,  453. 


489. 


Wadds,  William,  443." 
Wainewright,   Griffiths,   595. 
Wallace,  Alfred,  584. 
Warren,  Falkland  G.  E.,  659. 
Wasson,  Hilliard  J.,  535. 
Watson,  John  H.,  487. 
Watson,   Thomas,  479. 
Watts,  William,  716. 
Webb,   Horatio,   436. 
Wells,   Francis  B.,  390. 
Whiteside,  Arthur  M.,  452. 
Whiteside,  William  J.,  545. 
Whyte,  John  C,   560. 
Williams,  Adolphus,  396. 
Wilson,  Charles  H.,  475. 
Wilson,  George  I.,  730. 
Wilson,  Peter  E.,  777. 
Wilson,  W.  J.  B.,  466. 
Wolfenden,  Richard,  519. 
Wood,  Robert,   708. 
Woodrow,  James  I.,  356. 
Woodward,   Charles,  761. 
Worsnop,   Charles   A.,   576. 

Yarwood,  Edmund  M.,  777. 

Yates,  James,  328. 

Young,    Frederick   McB.,   638. 


H 
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British  Columbia. 


CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY  EXPLORATIONS. 

The  study  of  the  history  of  the  Northwest  Coast  of  North  America 
carries  us  back  to  that  period  of  grand  achievement,  the  sixteenth  century. 
It  was  in  this  brilHant  age  of  new  birth  and  vigorous  thought,  when  as  yet 
the  old  had  not  entirely  succumbed  to  the  new,  nor  the  new  completely  sup- 
planted the  old,  that  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  discovered.  The  finding  of  a 
new  ocean  highway  marked  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world  and  it  had 
an  important  bearing  on  the  future  relations  of  the  great  nations,  as  well  as 
giving  new  possibilities  to  the  continent  of  which  it  formed  the  western 
boundary. 

Hereafter  we  witness  the  Spanish,  the  Dutch  and  the  English  vying 
with  each  other  for  the  possession  of  the  trade  routes  to  India  and  the  Orient, 
and  as  an  outcome  of  this  rivalry  we  see  the  gradual  decline  of  the  first  and 
the  steady  rise  of  the  second  two  as  naval  powers. 

In  all  cases  where  nations  have  attained  world-wide  supremacy,  we  find 
that  that  supremacy  has  rested  upon  the  sure  foundation  of  naval  superiority 
and  command  of  the  sea.  Spain  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The  suc- 
cesses of  the  Spaniards  were  entirely  due  to  their  unrivalled  maritime  re- 
sources. The  development  of  her  navy  was  so  rapid  and  her  rise  so  remark- 
able that  within  the  short  space  of  three-quarters  of  the  sixteenth  century 
she  had  in  its  last  decade  reached  the  zenith  of  her  fame.  But  the  sun  of 
Spain's  prosperity  waned,  even  as  it  had  risen,  and  the  dying  years  of  the 
sixteenth  century  marked  the  beginning  of  the  decline  of  Spain's  sea-power. 


2  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

and  fore-shadowed  the  passing  of  the  naval  supremacy  of  the  world  to  the 
Dutch  and  the  English. 

The  shouts  of  acclaim  that  greeted  the  tidings  of  Balboa's  achievements 
in  viewing  the  Pacific  Ocean  from^  the  heights  of  Panama  had  scarcely  died 
away  when  the  house  of  Castile  turned  its  attentioo  to  the  examination  of 
the  coasts  of  America  to  the  north  and  to  the  south  O'f  the  Isthmus  of  Darien, 
hoping  to  find  a  passage  directly  leading  tO'  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Many  expe- 
ditions were  despatched  with  this  object  in  view,  and  for  seven  years  the 
Spaniards  persisted  in  a  futile  search  for  the  hidden  strait.  Then  Magellan, 
the  Portuguese,  with  his  compatriot  Ruy  Faleiro,  offered  to  find  for  Spain  a 
western  passage  to  the  Moluccas,  and  Charles  V  was  prevailed  upon  to  fit 
out  an  expedition  of  five  vessels  for  this  purpose.  In  1520,  Magellan,  after 
mutinies,  the  loss  of  several  ships  and  many  stirring  adventures,  discovered 
and  sailed  through  the  strait  which  bears  the  great  navigator's  name.  The 
Spaniards  had  at  last  found  the  long  sought  for  opening,  but  the  discovery 
after  all  brought  little  advantage,  the  strait  being  too  far  south  to  be  used  as 
a  regular  route  to  the  Spice  Islands  and  the  Orient.  Therefore,  it  early  be- 
came the  practice  to  transfer  the  gold,  silver  and  precious  stones  captured  in 
Peru,  and  the  rich  cargoes  of  the  Philippine  argosies,  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien  to  the  galleons  on  the  eastern  coast  of  this  narrow  neck  of  land.  The 
South  seas  were  not  yet  destined  to  become  the  scene  of  commercial  activity. 

However,  obstacles  presented  by  nature  could  not  long  prevail  against 
the  intrepid  and  resourceful  mariners  of  Spain  in  the  day  of  her  greatness, 
Cortez,  the  famous  or  infamous,  according  to  tlie  canons  by  which  he  may 
be  judged,  conquered  Mexico  and  ruthlessly  placed  a  new  dominion  under 
the  galling  yoke  of  the  Spaniard.  Pizarro,  with  equal  daring  and  equal 
deviltry-,  dethroned  the  Incas  of  Peru  and  forced  upon  their  unfortunate  sub- 
jects a  tyranny  so  atrocious  that  we  pale  as  we  read  the  story  of  Spanish 
prowess  in  this  unhappy  land.  These  events  were  fraught  with  far-reaching 
consequences. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  3 

While  the  conquest  and  subsequent  pillaging  of  Mexico  and  Peru  en- 
grossed the  attention  of  Cortez  and  Pizarro,  hardy  mariners  were  exploring 
that  portion  of  the  Pacific  which  washes  the  coasts  of  Central  America  and 
the  northern  portion  of  the  southern  continent.     Gradually  knowledge  of  the 
trend  of  the  land  was  acquired  and  the  possibilities  of  establishing  a  short 
route  to  the  far  east,  by  way  of  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  were  recognized  at 
an  early  date.     Then,  Cortez,  with  the  remarkable  energy  that  characterized 
all  his  actions,  pushed  his  exploration  and  conquests  to  the  western  confines 
of  his  province,  and  established  the  sovereignty  of  Spain  over  the  whole  land, 
from  the  Gulf  to  the  Pacific.     His  attempts  to  colonize  the  Californian  lit- 
toral were  failures.     The  hostility  of  the  inhabitants,  the  ravages  of  disease, 
and  the  barrenness  of  the  soil,  proved  insurmountable  barriers,  and  rendered 
abortive  his  ambitious  scheming  in  this  direction.     In  spite,  however,  of  dis- 
asters, Cortez,  with  indomitable  courage  and  zeal,  undertook  the  exploration 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  of  North  America.     He  issued  instructions  for  the  build- 
ing of  ships  on  the  Pacific  seaboard,  and  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  may 
well  be  imagined  when  it  is  remembered  that  all  the  iron  and  much  other 
material  needed  for  the  vessels  had  to  be  carried  overland  to  the  port  of  con- 
struction.    But  even  then  the  difficulties  had  only  commenced,  for  there  was 
no  seasoned  timber  available,  and  skilled  labor  was  scarce,  but  in  the  face  of 
all  these  drawbacks,  several  vessels  were  launched  from  the  crude  ship  yards 
at    Tehauntepec.      One  of  these,  under  the  command  of  Maldonado,  sailed 
northward  and  explored  the  coast  for  a  distance  of  some  three  hundred  miles, 
but  the  data  obtained  on  this  voyage  was  of  no  particular  value.     It  is  inter- 
esting only  as  marking  the  first  attempt  of  the  Spaniards  to  explore  the  un- 
known western  coastline  of  Mexico.     In  the  following  years  several  impor- 
tant expeditions  were  despatched  to  the  Gulf  of  California  and  its  shores 
were  more  or  less  carefully   examined.     Of   the   early   voyages   along  the 
western  coast  of   Mexico  that  undertaken   in    1532   by  Diego  Hurtado  de 
Mendoza,  a  kinsman  of  Cortez,  was  relatively  speaking  of  some  consequence. 


4  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Mendoza  reached  a  point  near  the  twenty-seventh  parallel,  where,  owing  to 
the  mutinous  conduct  of  his  men,  he  was  forced  to  send  back  one  of  his  ves- 
sels, continuing  the  voyage  in  the  other.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  far  this 
pioneer  navigator  proceeded  after  parting  company  with  his  former  com- 
panions, nor  have  we  any  record  of  his  observations  bearing  on  the  lands 
which  he  visited  in  the  course  of  his  wanderings,  for  his  vessel  was  cast  away 
on  an  unknown  reef,  and  neither  Mendoza  or  any  O'f  his  men  returned  to 
Mexico  to  recount  their  adventures. 

As  the  coast  line  became  better  known,  as  the  result  of  these  voyages, 
the  explorers  became  bolder,  and  at  last  in  1539,  Ulloa,  after  having  exam- 
ined with  care  the  shores  of  the  Vermilion  Sea,  .as  the  Gulf  of  California  was 
marked  on  early  charts,  rounded  the  Cape  San  Lucas,  at  the  southern  ex- 
tremity oi  the  California  Peninsula,  and  pointed  the  way  to  the  great  north- 
west coast  that  stretched  in  one  long,  irregular  line  tO'  the  mist-enshrouded 
waters  of  Behring  Strait,  although  for  many  a  long  year  it  remained,  as  here- 
tofore, a  terra  incognita,  and  nothing  foreign  disturbed  the  primeval  solitude 
of  that  vast  region.  From  the  time  of  Ulloa,  the  first  European  tO'  examine 
tlie  outer  shore  of  the  California  Peninsula,  the  Spaniards  made  spasmodic 
efforts  to  explore  and  annex  the  northwest  coast,  but  the  endeavors  to  a 
great  extent  were  rendered  fruitless,  chiefly  owing  toi  the  parsimonious  policy 
pursued  by  the  viceroys  of  Mexico.  Nevertheless,  whatever  may  be  said  with 
regard  to  the  lack  of  energy  displayed  by  those  responsible  for  the  despatch- 
ing of  exploratory  expeditions,  we  can,  as  a  general  rule,  only  praise  the 
commanders  and  crews  of  the  vessels  to  whom  this  difficult  task  was  entrusted. 
In  ships  ill-found  and  small  they  bravely  sailed  away  to  the  unknown  north- 
ern waters,  a  few  of  them  to  hand  their  names  down  to  posterity,  many  of 
them  to  perish  at  the  hands  of  savages,  or  to  die  miserably  from  disease,  and 
all  of  them  to  suffer  untold  hardships  from  starvation,  sickness,  and  inclement 
weather  on  the  rock-bound  coasts  they  essayed  to  explore. 

In  1542  Cabrillo,  a  navigator  of  some  local  fame,  followed  in  UUoa's 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  5 

track,  and,  having  rounded  Cape  San  Lucas,  commenced  the  first  systematic 
survey  of  the  western  coastline  of  California.  He  advanced  northward  in 
easy  stages,  charting  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  and  naming  the  bays,  capes 
and  inlets,  but  the  nomenclature  of  this  explorer  has  long  since  been  super- 
seded by  that  of  later  discoverers.  Cabrillo  unhappily  succumbed  to  hard- 
ships and  privation  a  few  months  after  his  departure  from  the  Mexican  port 
of  Navidad.  Like  many  before  and  after  him,  he  passed  away  on  a  wild  and 
unfrequented  coast  far  from  his  native  land,  whither  duty  called  him.  The 
voyage  was  continued  by  the  pilot  of  the  expedition,  Ferrelo,  who  zealously 
continued  the  work  of  exploration.  We  are  informed  in  the  Spanish  narra- 
tive touching  this  undertaking  that  'the  forty-first  parallel  of  latitude  was 
attained.  Ferrelo  probably  sighted  the  promontory  later  named  Cape  Men- 
docino. 

At  an  early  date  the  Spaniards  learned  to  take  advantage  of  the  prevail- 
ing westerly  winds  of  the  Pacific,  and  from  Mexican  and  Peruvian  ports 
fleets  sailed  for  the  Philippines,  China  and  India,  but  for  a  long  time  no'  ves- 
sels voyaged  from  thence  tO'  Mexico  or  South  America  across  the  great  ocean, 
as  the  constant  "  trade  winds,"  as  they  have  since  been  termed,  baffled  the 
efforts  of  the  Spanish  navigators  to  return  by  the  way  they  had  gone.  There- 
fore, those  ships  which  escaped  destruction  from  storms,  the  sunken  reefs  of 
the  East  Indies,  or  the  hostile  natives,  sailed  on  to  Europe  past  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  a  route  long  known  to  the  Portuguese  engaged  in  the  Asiatic 
trade.  The  Spanish  government  was  always  intensely  jealous  of  the  successes 
of  the  Portuguese  in  India  and  China,  and  on  more  than  one  memorable  oc- 
casion endeavored  to  wrest  from  them  the  fniits  of  their  lucrative  trading 
expeditions  thither.  But  these  expeditions  were  generally  ill-starred  and 
achieved  naught  for  Spain.  At  least  two  important  armaments  were  launched 
from  Mexico  against  the  Portuguese,  one  sailing  as  early  as  tlie  year  1526 
under  Saavedra,  and  the  other  in  1542  in  command  of  Ruy  Lopez  de  Villa- 
lobos.     Both  ended  in  complete  disaster. 


6  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

If  we  can  place  reliance  in  the  obscure  and  unsatisfactory  documentary- 
evidence,  which  is  the  only  instrument  in  the  hand  of  the  latter-day  historian, 
we  must  honor  the  adventurous  Friar  Urdaneta,  who  had  sailed  with  Magel- 
lan, as  the  discoverer  of  an  eastern  route  to  the  shores  of  America.  He 
solved  the  problem  which  had  puzzled  his  country-men  for  so  long  and  earned 
their  well-merited  praise  by  proving  that  it  was  possible  to  sail  to  and  from 
the  East  Indies  from  any  port  on  the  western  seaboard  of  America.  Urdaneta 
found  that  by  steering  a  northward  course  from  the  Philippines  a  region  was 
entered  where  the  prevailing  winds  blew  in  the  direction  of  the  American 
continent,  and  thereafter  the  Spaniards  availed  themselves  of  the  peculiarities 
of  the  atmospheric  currents,  with  the  result,  however,  that  on  the  return  voy- 
ages their  ships  would  often  strike  the  continent  far  north  of  Mexico. 

After  several  abortive  efforts  in  this  direction,  the  Philippines  had  been 
subjugated  by  Miguel  de  Legazpi,  with  whom  Urdaneta  sailed  as  pilot.  In 
this  manner  the  Spaniards  gained  what  they  had  long  coveted,  a  secure  posi- 
tion in  the  Far  East.  The  potentialities  of  the  Oriental  trade  were  soon 
recognized,  and  as  a  natural  result,  Spanish  shipping  rapidly  increased  and 
before  long  the  Pacific  Ocean  became  an  important  highway  of  commerce. 
The  authorities  at  Madrid  were  jubilant,  and  in  a  few  years  a  lucrative  traffic 
sprang  up  between  Spain  and  the  Philippine  Archipelago,  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  where  fortified  posts  were  maintained  for  the  safe-guard- 
ing of  the  treasure  and  merchandise  which  was  transferred  overland  from 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  to  the  Caribbean  Sea. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


CHAPTER  II. 
ENGLISH  BUCCANEERS. 

The  trade  route  thus  estabhshed  possessed  great  advantages  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Spaniards,  as  it  was  more  or  less  immune  from  the  attacks  of  free- 
booters, whose  depredations  in  after  years  caused  so  much  irritation  and 
bitterness  of  feehng.  For  a  period  Spain  was  practically  supreme  on  the 
Pacific,  and  her  mariners  plied  their  avocation  of  collecting  tribute  from 
defenseless  peoples  without  fear  of  molestation  at  the  hands  of  privateering 
adventurers.  Firmly  intrenched  in  their  new  sphere  of  influence  as  they  be- 
lieved themselves  to  be,  and  perliaps  placing  overmuch  reliance  in  the  efficacy 
of  a  papal  bull,  by  which  Pope  Pius  IX  awarded  to  the  Spanish  King  vast 
regions  known  and  unknown,  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  English  buccaneers 
on  the  scene  of  their  operations  came  as  a  rude  shock  to  the  Spaniards.  The 
storm  of  the  Reformation  had  not  yet  subsided  and  Protestant  England  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  rights  of  Spain  on  the  Pacific  to  the  exclusion  of 
other  nations,  and  vigorously  disputed  with  her  the  claims  based  on  such 
authority. 

John  Oxenham,  so  far  as  \\&  can  ascertain  at  this  late  date,  was  the 
first  Englishman  to  sail  the  Pacific,  With  the  gallant  Drake  he  had  viewed 
the  ocean  from  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  in  1572,  when,  it  will  be  remembered. 
Sir  Francis,  on  bended  knee,  prayed  that  God  would  bless  him  in  his  efforts 
tO'  carry  the  English  flag  upon  this  great  sea.  Two  years  later,  in  1574, 
Oxenham  left  his  ship  on  the  east  coast  of  the  Isthmus,  and  on  foot,  with  his 
small  band  of  adventurous  followers,  crossed  over  to  some  lonely  and  long- 
since  forgotten  spot  on  the  Pacific  shore  where  he  built  a  rude  pinnace,  forty- 
five  feet  in  length,  on  which  he  embarked  on  his  hazardous  enterprise.     A 


8  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

few  small  treasure  galleons  were  captured,  but  the  foray  was  only  partially 
successful.  On  the  return  journey  across  the  Isthmus,  the  whole  expedition 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  reckless  Oxenham  paid  the  pen- 
alty of  his  temerity  with  his  life.  He  was  hanged  at  Lima  in  1575.  A  few 
years  later  Sir  Francis  Drake  planned  and  executed  a  daring  raid  on  the 
Spanish  settlements  on  the  South  American  seaboard.  Leaving  England 
with  five  ships  he  steered  for  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  but  storms  dispersed 
his  little  squadron,  and  Drake's  own  vessel,  the  Golden  Hinde  of  glorious 
memory,  alone  reached  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Nothing  daunted  by  his  misfor- 
tunes he  boldly  sailed  up  the  coast,  visiting  and  ravaging  the  settlements,  and 
capturing  many  Spanish  galleons  laden  with  treasure.  Devastation  marked 
his  triumphal  progress,  and  we  are  told  that  up  and  down  the  coast  the  mere 
mention  of  Drake's  name  struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  his  enemies.  At 
last,  satisfied  with  the  havoc  he  had  wrought  and  wishing  to  depart  in  safety 
with  his  rich  booty,  Drake  sailed  northward,  proposing  to  return  to  Europe 
by  the  northwest  passage  of  which  he  had  heard  so  much.  In  "  The  World 
Encompassed  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  "  we  read  that  the  courageous  English- 
man continued  his  voyage  far  up  the  northwest  coast  in  his  vain  quest.  He 
was  at  last  forced  to  put  about  on  account  of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 
He  sailed  south  again,  making  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  thirty-eighth 
parallel  of  latitude  on  the  coast  of  California.  His  exact  landfall  was  for 
many  years  a  matter  of  conjecture  and  dispute,  but  the  available  evidence 
seems  to  prove  more  or  less  conclusively  that  Drake's  Bay,  a  little  to  the 
north  of  San  Francisco,  was  the  haven  in  which  the  Golden  Hinde  found 
refuge.  Here  Sir  Francis  had  intercourse  with  the  natives,  by  whom^  he 
was  well  received,  and  obtained  a  supply  of  water  and  fresh  provisions  which 
were  badly  needed.  Drake  christened  the  whole  land  New  Albion  and  took 
l)ossession  of  it  in  the  name  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Then,  rather  than  again 
approach  the  hornet's  nest  he  had  stirred  up  to  the  south,  he  sailed  across  the 
Pacific  and  followed  the  path  of  the  Portuguese  round  the  Cape  of  Good 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  9 

Hope  to  Europe,  reaching  England  in  1580,  after  an  absence  of  three  years. 
Sir  Francis  was  honored  by  Elizabeth  and  became  the  idol  of  the  people,  with 
whom  his  exploits  on  the  Spanish  Main  were  in  high  favor. 

The  voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  had  a  somewhat  important  bearing  on 
future  events,  for  upon  his  discoveries  on  the  northwest  coast  the  British 
partially  based  their  claim  to  the  territory  of  Oregon  when,  at  a  later  date, 
the  boundary  dispute  occupied  the  attention  of  the  diplomatists  of  Great 
Britain  and  America.  Unfortunately,  we  have  no  sure  means  of  ascertain- 
ing the  exact  parallel  of  latitude  attained  by  Drake  as  his  notes  are  by  no 
means  as  clear  as  they  might  be  upon  this  subject.  It  was  advanced  by  the 
authorities  favoring  the  British  contention  that  the  forty-eighth  parallel  was 
reached,  but  it  is  scarcely  likely  that  the  northern  excursion  of  the  noted 
buccaneer  was  prolonged  so  far. . 

The  fancied  impregnability  of  the  Spanish  position  on  the  Pacific  was 
thus  rudely  shaken.  Their  richly  laden  galleons  served  as  a  lure  to  the  ad- 
venturous English,  who  delighted  in  humbling  the  power  and  pride  of 
Spain.  A  few  years  only  had  elapsed  after  Drake's  successful  piratical  in- 
cursion, when  Thomas  Cavendish,  almost  as  celebrated  as  his  great  prototype, 
appeared  ofif  the  west  coast  of  South  America  with  three  small  ships.  Fol- 
lowing the  tactics  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  he  pillaged  and  burnt  the  settlements 
of  the  Spaniards  and  looted  their  treasure  ships,  leaving  behind  him  a  trail 
of  blood  and  fire.  Before  returning  he  sailed  as  far  north  as  Cape  San 
Lucas,  where  he  fell  in  with  the  galleon  Santa  Anna  having  on  board  an 
immensely  valuable  cargo  of  merchandise  from  Manila.  Capturing  this  rich 
prize,  he  transferred  the  treasure  to  his  own  vessels,  then  burned  the  craft 
to  the  water's  edge  and  with  the  wantonness  characteristic  of  the  age,  landed 
her  unfortunate  crew  on  the  desolate  coast  and  abandoned  them  to  their  fate. 
Happily  for  the  castaways,  the  burned  craft  drifted  ashore  in  their  vicinity 
and  they  were  able  to  roughly  repair  the  damage  and  escape  to  a  Mexican 
port.     Vizcaino  and  Apostolos  Valerianos  (the  latter  better  known  as  Juan 


10  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

de  Fuca),  who  later  played  an  important  part  in  the  exploration  of  the  north- 
west coastline,  were  on  board  this  ill-starred  ship,  and  for  this  reason,  if  for 
no  other,  the  incident  just  recited  possesses  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

In  the  latter  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century  English  freebooters  were 
more  or  less  actively  engaged  in  harassing  the  Spaniards  on  the  Pacific. 
However,  as  a  general  rule,  those  who  endeavored  to  emulate  the  deeds  of 
Drake  and  Cavendish  met  with  but  indifferent  success.  The  inaccessibility 
of  the  Manila  trade  route,  and  the  lack  of  bases  for  the  conduct  of  offensive 
operations  proved  the  salvation  of  the  Spaniards. 

Belief  in  the  existence  of  the  Strait  of  Anian,  or  the  Northwest  Passage 
as  it  is  known  to  us,  seemed  inborn  in  the  mariners  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  the  Dutch  and  the  English  held  this  faith  in 
common  and  to  their  zealous,  but  futile,  endeavors  to  find  the  Pacific  inlet 
to  this  fabled  Strait  we  are  indebted  for  many  of  the  early  voyages  of  dis- 
covery and  eventually  the  exploration  and  settlement  of  the  Northwest  Coast. 

To  this  belief  we  also  owe  a  rich  literature  of  adventure,  the  materials 
of  which  are  contained  in  the  records  of  many  voyages  and  expeditions.  The 
Spaniards  after  repeated  attempts  despaired  of  its  existence,  at  least  within 
the  sphere  oi  their  influence.  But  the  belief  died  hard,  all  the  more  so  be- 
cause from  time  to  time  the  world  was  misled  by  reports  of  the  navigation 
of  the  reputed  waterway.  The  published  accounts  of  such  men  as  Maldo- 
nado,  de  Fonte  and  others,  were  believed  implicity  by  many.  Tbese  bald 
falsehoods,  manufactured  as  they  were  out  of  whole  cloth,  served  to  keep 
alive  the  idea  that  such  a  passage  really  divided  the  North  American  con- 
tinent. The  early  explorations  on  the  Mexican  and  Californian  littoral  soon 
established  beyond  peradventure  that  the  long  sought  for  passage  did  not 
find  an  outlet  in  this  region,  and  the  fact  might  have  had  a  discouraging 
effect  on  the  progress  of  northwest  exploration  if  a  new  reason  for  charting 
the  Pacific  coastline  had  not  arisen.  The  establishment  of  the  trade  route 
to  the  Spice  Islands  has  already  been  alluded  to.     It  will  be  rem,embered  that 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  11 

the  ships  crossed  the  Pacific  in  the  path  of  the  southwesterly  trades.  In  re- 
turning, however,  mariners  were  obliged  to  steer  a  northerly  course  so  that 
their  landfall  on  the  continent  was  often  far  above  Mexico.  This  necessi- 
tated a  more  or  less  protracted  voyage  along  an  uncharted  and  dangerous 
coast.  Naturally  enough  the  authorities  at  Madrid,  bearing  in  mind  the 
enormous  value  of  the  Philippine  trade,  soon  determined  that  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  constant  loss  of  ships  in  these  waters  it  would  be  necessary  to  find 
and  chart  havens  of  refuge  for  the  homing  treasure  ships.  It  is  impossible 
to  say  in  what  latitude  the  ships  made  the  continent,  but  it  has  been  stated, 
and  apparently  with  some  show  of  reason,  that  they  often  sighted  land  in 
the  higher  latitude  of  the  Californian  coast.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
long  before  Vizcaino,  in  1602-3  charted  the  coastline  between  Cape  San 
Lucas  and  the  forty-third  parallel,  the  Spanish  captains  engaged  in  the  East 
Indian  trade  knew  of  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  and  it  is  not  altogether  im- 
probable that  they  often  visited  this  port  for  water  and  refreshment  after 
their  long  and  tedious  voyages  across  the  Pacific. 

Between  the  voyages  of  Vizcaino  and  that  of  Juan  Perez  in  the  "  Santi- 
ago," which  is  dealt  with  in  the  next  chapter,  there  is  an  interregnum  of  nearly 
two  hundred  years.  During  that  long  period,  so  far  as  contemporary  evi- 
dence is  available,  attention  from  the  problems  of  Pacific  navigation,  trade 
and  adventure  was  completely  withdrawn,  only  to  be  revived  to  greater  activ- 
ity towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  Spain  made  a  final 
effort  to  assert  her  traditional  sovereignty  over  the  western  and  southern 
seas.  England  had  also  entered  upon  a  new  phase  of  naval  activity,  and  was 
ag'ain  to  be  brought  into  conflict  with  an  European  power  for  the  supremacy 
of  the  ocean,  this  time  with  France,  as  she  had  once  in  the  earlier  period 
described,  in  conflict  with  Spain,  and  it  was  her  destiny  once  more  to  emerge 
triumphant.  Spain  at  this  later  period  was  struggling  with  adverse  fate  to 
regain  lost  ground;  England  was  in  the  ascendancy,  strong,  aggressive  and 
indomitable.     A  new  race  of  sea  dogs,  worthy  of  the  best  traditions  of  the 


12  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

days  of  Drake,  had  risen  in  the  Navy,  and  headed  by  Nelson,  were  more  than 
ever  to  make  the  Union  Jack  respected  and  feared  wherever  flung  to  the 
breeze.  In  respect  to  the  Pacific  Coast  of  North  America,  the  later  expedi- 
tions of  the  Spanish  were  soon  followed  by  those  of  the  English.  Interest 
was  again  revived  in  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  Northwest  Passage, 
and  the  mariners  of  both  nations  contributed  much  to  the  knowledge  of  this 
coast.  That  England  should  lead  in  this  enterprise  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
considering  the  greatly  superior  vessels  and  improved  equipment  as  compared 
with  those  of  the  Spaniards.  That  she  should  remain  in  possession  while 
the  Spanish  retired  forever  from  the  region  north  of  California  coast  was 
inevitable.  Spain  was  a  worn  out  and  decrepit  naval  power,  while  England 
was  coming  to  her  prime,  and  was  yet  to  witness  her  greatest  triumphs. 

Juan  de  Fuca. 

In  1592,  just  a  century  after  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus, 
the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  sent  a  Gi*eek  pilot,  known  among  the  Spaniards  of  that 
colony  as  Juan  de  Fuca,  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  north  Pacific  Ocean. 
This  navigator  followed  the  coast  till  he  reached  an  inlet  up  which  he  sailed 
for  more  than  twenty  days.  The  entrance  of  the  strait  was  marked  by  a 
great  headland  or  island  on  which  was  an  exceedingly  high  pinnacle  of  spired 
rock.  This  strait  which  grew  wider  as  the  explorer  proceeded  contained 
numerous  islands.  Juan  de  Fuca  landed  at  several  places  and  found  the 
natives  dressed  in  the  skins  of  beasts.  He  observed  that  the  land  was  fruit- 
ful and  reported  that  it  was  rich  in  gold,  silver,  pearls  and  other  things  like 
New  Spain.  Sailing  on  he  reached  a  broader  sheet  of  water  of  which  he 
S]X)ke  as  the  North  Sea.  He  then  returned  to  Acapulco.  The  inland  waters 
thus  explored  are  known  now  as  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  Georgia. 
This  is  alluded  to  in  the  following  extract  from  Robert  Greenhow's  "  Historic 
Memoirs  of  the  Northwest  Coast :"  "  The  discrepancies  to  be  observed  in 
the  narrative  of  de  Fuca  are  few  and  slight  and  are  all  within  the  limits  of 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  13 

supposable  error  on  the  part  of  the  Greek,  especially  when  his  advanced 
age,  and  the  circumstances  that  he  spoke  only  from  recollection  are  consid- 
ered; while  on  the  other  hand,  the  coincidences  are  too  great  and  too  strik- 
ing to  be  fairly  attributed  to  chance. 

"  It  may,  therefore,  be  undoubtedly  admitted  that  Fuca  entered  the  strait 
now  bearing  his  name,  and  that  he  may  also  have  passed  entirely  through  it, 
but  that  he,  an  experienced  navigator,'  should  have  conceived  that  by  sailing 
thirty  leagues  east  and  then  eighty  leagues  northwest  by  west  he  had  arrived 
in  the  Atlantic  is  wholly  incredible." 

The  explorer  not  receiving  the  rewards  he  expected  from  the  viceroy 
and  the  Spanish  king  returned  disappointed  to  his  home  in  Cephalonia.  On 
his  way  thither  in  1596  he  met  at  Florence  an  English  sea-captain,  John 
Douglas,  who  introduced  him  to  Michael  Lx)ck,  an  influential  merchant.  So 
greatly  were  these  Englishmen  impressed  with  the  truthfulness  of  the  story 
told  by  the  old  mariner  and  of  the  importance  of  his  discovery  that  they  en- 
deavored through  Lord  Cecil,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  and  Richard  Hakluyt, 
famous  for  his  publication  of  works  of  travel  and  exploration,  to  induce 
Queen  Elizabeth  to  employ  de  Fuca  to  make  discoveries  on  England's  be- 
half. To  take  the  explorer  to  England  £100  was  needed  and  the  British 
Government  was  asked  to  furnish  the  money.  It  was  not  sent  and  when  in 
t6o2  Lock  found  himself  in  a  position  to  advance  it  out  of  his  own  funds 
Juan  de  Fuca  was  on  his  deathbed.  The  opportunity  had  passed  and  it  was 
almost  two  hundred  years  before  the  flag  of  England  was  planted  on  the 
Northwest  Coast. 


14  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


CHAPTER  III. 
LATER  EXPLORERS. 

The  next  explorations  of  which  we  have  any  authentic  record  were  those 
of  Juan  Perez  and  his  pilot,  Estevan  Jose  Martinez,  who  set  sail  from  San 
Bias  in  January,  1774,  on  the  Spanish  corvette,  Santiago,  to  explore  the  coast 
between  the  forty-third  and  the  sixtieth  parallels  of  north  latitude.  The  San- 
tiago spent  the  winter  at  Monterey.  Leaving  that  harbor  on  the  sixth  of 
June  Perez  sailed  north  and  sighted  land  in  latitude  fifty-four  degrees.  He 
named  the  most  northerly  point  of  land  Cape  San  Margarita.  It  is  now 
known  as  North  Cape  on  the  extreme  north  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands, 
The  navigator  then  turned  his  prow  southward  and  on  the  ninth  of  August, 
the  eve  of  the  festival  of  St.  Lawrence,  reached  latitude  forty-nine  degrees 
thirty  minutes.  Here  he  found  anchorage  which  he  piously  named  San 
Lorenzo.  The  natives  offered  him  skins  in  exchange  for  articles  of  iron, 
showing  that  they  had  previously  learned  the  value  of  that  most  useful  of 
metals.  Father  Brabant,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  stationed  on  the  west 
coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  told  Captain  Walbrau,  C.  G.  S.,  of  the  following 
tradition  current  among  the  Indians  at  Hesquiat  and  Nootka  Sound,  which 
he  believed  related  to  this  visit  of  the  Santiago : 

"  One  day,  many,  many  years  ago,  the  Indians,  one  morning,  looking  out 
to  sea  from  a  village  called  Oum-mis,  saw  between  the  Hole-in-the-Wall 
and  Sunday  Rock  a  large  object  floating  on  the  water  which,  at  first;  they 
took  to  be  a  very  large  bird.  But  when  it  came  nearer,  near  enough  to  see 
people  moving  about  on  it,  they  concluded  among  themselves  that  it  was  a 
very  big  canoe  and  that  the  strangers  were  their  dead  chiefs  coming  back 
from   the  dead.     The  ship  came  close  into  a  place  called   Patcista,   a  bay 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  15 

marked  on  the  chart  as  a  g'ood  landing  place  for  boats,  between  Sunday  Rock 
and  Escalante  Reef,  and  there  stayed  a  short  time." 

The  Santiago  returned  from  San  Lorenzo  to  San  Bias  and  the  next 
year  was  sent  on  a  second  expedition  under  command  of  Captain  Don  Bruno 
Heceta  with  Juan  Perez  as  one  of  his  officers.  She  was  accompanied  by  a 
little  vessel,  the  Sonora,  thirty-six  feet  long,  twelve  wide  and  eight  deep. 
To  the  gallant  and  persevering  officers  of  this  tiny  craft,  Don  Juan  Francisco 
de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra  and  Antonio  Maurelle,  is  chiefly  due  the  credit  of 
explorations  made  during  this  voyage.  Leaving  San  Bias  on  the  sixteenth 
of  March  they  surveyed  the  coast  till  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  en- 
trance into  the  strait  discovered  by  Fuca.  Here  the  ships  were  driven  south- 
ward by  a  storm.  They  found  anchorage  between  a  small  island  and  the 
coast.  The  crew  of  a  boat  sent  on  shore  for  wood  and  water  was  murdered 
by  the  natives.  The  Sonora  was  also  attacked,  but  although  there  were  only 
three  men  left  on  board  capable  of  bearing  arms  the  savages  were  driven 
back  with  a  loss  of  six  men.  The  island  where  the  disaster  occurred  was 
called  Isle  de  Dolores.  Heceta  now  wanted  to  return  but  Quadra  urged  him 
to  continue  his  voyage.  He  complied,  but  about  a  week  afterward,  the  ves- 
sels having  been  separated  by  a  storm,  the  Santiago  began  her  homeward 
journey.  Ten  days  later  her  commander  discovered  the  mouth  of  a  large 
river,  the  Columbia,  which  is  marked  on  the  Spanish  charts  of  1788,  Rio  San 
Roque.  The  little  Sonora  with  her  diminished  crew  proceeded  on  her 
voyage.  On  the  sixteenth  of  August  she  reached  what  is  now  known  as 
Mount  Edgecombe,  ''  which  was  of  the  most  regular  and  beautiful  form  they 
had  ever  seen,  the  top  of  it  covered  with  snow  and  beneath  this  top  caused 
by  the  snow  lying  in  deep  gullies,  white  and  dark  stri])es  were  regularly 
fornied  down  the  mountain  side."  The  next  day  at  a  place  which  the  Span- 
iards called  Port  de  los  Remedies,  but  which  is  now  known  as  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  Quadra  erected  a  cross,  carved  another  on  the  rock  and  took  formal 
possession  of  the  territory  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain.     The  natives 


16  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

of  this  place  carried  off  the  wooden  cross  and  placed  it  in  front  of  one  of 
their  houses.  The  mouth  of  the  river  which  emptied  into  the  bay  was  filled 
with  salmon,  which  were  caught  by  the  natives  and  sold  to  the  explorers. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  August  Quadra  proceeded  northward  and  reached 
latitude  fifty-eight  degrees.  The  weather  became  very  cold  and  stormy  and 
as  only  Quadra  himself  and  Maurelle  were  well  enough  to  navigate  the  ship 
they  were  obliged  to  set  out  on  their  homeward  voyage.  Threading  her  way 
among  the  islands  and  promontories  so  numerous  on  this  coast  the  Sonora 
at  length  found  shelter  in  a  large  bay  in  latitude  fifty-five  degrees  thirty  min- 
utes, which  Quadra  named  Port  Bucarelli.  Here  the  weather-worn  sailors 
found  rest  and  refreshment.  It  is  curious  to  learn  that  they  attributed  the 
grateful  warmth  of  this  sheltered  haven  to  an  active  volcano  which  they  saw 
burning  in  the  distance. 

Passing  by  and  naming  Cape  St.  Augustine  the  explorers  saw  and 
named  Perez  Sound,  now  known  as  Dixon  Entrance.  Here  a  southwesterly 
storm  drove  them  north  and  again  the  indefatigable  mariners  had  hopes  of 
accomplishing  their  mission  and  reaching  the  sixtieth  parallel,  but  sickness 
reappearing  they  abandoned  their  purpose  and  set  out  on  their  return.  They 
reached  Monterey  on  the  seventh  of  October  and  on  the  twentieth  of  No- 
vember, 1775,  arrived  at  San  Bias. 

In  1779  Quadra  and  Maurelle  accompanied  Lieutenant  Artega  on  a  third 
expedition  to  the  Northwest  Coast.  They  examined  and  surveyed  the  bay 
at  Port  Bucarelli  discovered  in  1775,  saw  Mount  St.  Elias  and  entered  the 
large  inlet  now  called  Prince  William  Sound  just  beyond  the  sixtieth  par- 
allel which  Quadra  had  striven  so  hard  to  reach  in  the  preceding  voyage. 
The  Spaniards  contented  themselves  with  these  discoveries  and  it  was  not 
till  British  merchants  had  begun  to  occupy  the  Northwest  Coast  that  they 
returned  to  prosecute  their  explorations  and  to  drive  off,  if  possible,  those 
whom  they  looked  upon  as  trespassers. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA        _  17 

Captain  Cook. 

In  1588  the  renowned  Englishman,  Sir  Francis  Drake,  sailed  by  the 
western  coast  of  North  America  and  named  the  region  New  Albion.  As 
far  as  can  be  ascertained  he  did  not  reach  a  higher  latitude  than  California. 
It  was  one  hundred'  and  ninety  years  before  another  visit  of  a  British  ship 
to  this  coast  is  recorded.  On  the  seventh  of  March,  1778,  Captain  James 
Cook,  the  celebrated  navigator,  sighted  land  about  one  hundred  miles  north 
of  Cape  Mendocino.  He  had  set  sail  from  Plymouth  nearly  two  years  be- 
fore in  command  of  His  Majesty's  ships,  Resolution  and  Discovery.  He  had 
spent  much  time  in  exploring  the  southern  seas  and  had  discovered  the  Sand- 
wich or  Hawaiian  Islands.  His  instructions  were  to  endeavor  to  fall  in  with 
the  coast  in  the  latitude  of  forty-five  degrees  and  then  examine  it  to  the  lati- 
tude of  sixty-five  degrees,  but  not  to  lose  any  time  in  exploring  rivers  or  in- 
lets until  he  had  reached  the  latter  parallel.  At  the  fifty-sixth  parallel  he  was 
to  search  for  a  passage  pointing  towards  Hudson's  or  Baffin's  Bay,  and  if 
found,  to  attempt  to  make  his  way  through;  if  no  passage  was  found,  then 
he  was  to  visit  the  Russian  establishments  in  that  latitude  and  to  explore  the 
seas  nothwards,  as  far  and  as  completely  as  he  could. 

A  little  northwest  of  the  forty-eighth  parallel  Cook  observed  a  point  of 
land  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Flattery.  The  weather  here  was 
very  stormy  and  no  sign  of  Juan  de  Fuca  strait  could  be  observed.  The  old 
Greek  navigator  had  stated  that  the  passage  was  between  the  forty-seventh 
and  forty-eighth  parallels,  and  as  Captain  Cook  could  not  find  it  there  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  no  such  strait  existed.  Keeping  on  his  course 
he  discovered  land  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  1778,  in  latitude  forty- 
nine  degrees  twenty-eight  minutes  north.  Here  he  found  a  large  bay  into 
which  he  entered  and  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Nootka  Sound.  He 
stayed  here  four  weeks,  thoroughly  refitted  his  ships  and  made  a  plan  of  a 
portion  of  the  sound.     He  found  the  natives  very  friendly  and  not  disposed 


18  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

to  interfere  with  him;  in  any  way.  They  wore  ornaments  of  brass  and  used 
implements  of  iron.  One  of  the  men  adorned  his  person  with  two  silver 
teaspoons  of  Spanish  make.  The  Indians,  nevertheless,  declared  no  ship  had 
entered  that  bay  before  so  it  was  supposed  the  articles  were  obtained  from 
other  tribes  who  had  held  communication  with  the  Spaniards.  The  natives 
brought  him  furs  in  exchange  for  various  articles  of '  small  value.  These 
furs  the  sailors  made  into  coats  or  bed  covering.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of 
April,  Captain  Cook  was  again  ready  for  sea.  Soon  after  he  saw  the  beauti- 
ful mountain  described  by  the  Spanish  pilot  Maurelle  and  named  it  Mount 
Edgecombe.  Cook  skirted  the  coast  of  Alaska,  naming  Mount  Fairweather, 
Cross  Sound  and  Cross  Cape.  He  saw  Mount  St.  Elias,  discovered  by  the 
explorer  Behring,  and  found  two  large  bays.  To  the  first  he  gave  the  name 
of  Prince  William's  Sound,  the  second  has  been  called  in  his  honor  Cook's 
Inlet.  Calling  at  Unalaska  and  then  sailing  westward,  Cook  touched  at  the 
most  western  point  of  the  continent,  naming  it  Cape  Prince  of  Wales.  He 
then  crossed  the  channel,  thirty-six  miles  wide  at  this  place,  and  reached  the 
opposite  shore  of  Asia  at  East  Cape.  It  was  Cook  who  gave  the  strait,  which 
separates  the  contments  of  Asia  and  America,  the  name  of  Behring  Strait,  in 
honor  of  the  explorer,  Behring,  who  had  passed  through  it  fifty  years  before. 
It  was  now  October  and  Cook,  finding  he  could  proceed  no  further  north, 
sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  winter.  He  intended  to  return  next  spring 
to  pursue  his  investigations,  but  was  murdered  by  the  natives  in  February, 
1779.  Captain  Clerke  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  ships,  but  neither 
was  he  able  to  pierce  the  icy  barrier.  Like  his  commander  he  died  in  exile, 
falling  a  victim  to  consumption  at  Petropavlovsky,  in  Kamschatka.  Before 
returning  to  England  the  ships,  now  under  command  of  Captain  Gore,  went 
to  China.  The  sailors  received  such  handsome  prices  for  the  furs  they  had 
got  at  Nootka  Sound  that  they  wanted  their  commander  to  return  thither  to 
get  more.  When,  as  in  duty  bound,  he  refused  there  was  almost  a  mutiny 
on  board  the  Resolution  and  Discovery.     The  ships  did  not  reach  England 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  19 

till  1780  and  it  was  1784  before  the  account  of  Cook's  third  voyage  with 
the  charts  of  the  northwest  coast  made  by  him  and  his  officers  was  published. 
No  sooner  was  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  this  rich  fur-bearing  region  given 
to  the  world  than  a  great  number  of  ships  made  their  way  thither.  The  first 
to  arrive  at  Nootka  Sound  was  a  little  vessel  from  China  in  1785,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Hanna,  who  was  able  to  obtain  furs  which  he  sold  for 
twenty-six  thousand  dollars.  During  1786  Hanna  returned  to  find  that  two 
of  the  East  India  Company's  vessels,  the  Captain  Cook  and  the  Experiment, 
had  visited  the  place  in  his  absence  and  that  they  had  left  no  furs  behind 
them,.  An  adventurous  seaman,  John  McKay,  surgeon's  mate  of  the  "  Cap- 
tain Cook,"  had  voluntarily  remained  at  Nootka  Sound  to  study  the  language, 
customs  and  manners  of  the  natives.  Not  being  able  to  obtain  furs  at  this 
place  Hanna  visited  the  inlets  to  the  northwest  of  Vancouver  Island  and 
named  many  of  them,  as  well  as  the  capes.  Queen  Charlotte  Sound  was  in 
1786  discovered  and  named -by  the  officers  of  the  "  Captain  Cook  "  and  "  Ex- 
periment," who  had  returned  on  another  trading  expedition.  A  notable 
event  of  the  same  year  was  the  visit  of  the  famous  French  explorer,  La 
Perouse.  He  was  the  first  to  suggest  that  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  were 
not  part  of  the  mainland  of  North  America.  At  the  only  place  at  which 
this  explorer  landed  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  two  boat's  crews  consisting 
of  twenty-one  men.  He  himself  with  both  his  ships  was  lost  near  Australia 
on  the  homeward  voyage. 

Captain  Meares. 

In  the  autumn  of  1786  two  vessels,  the  "  Nootka  "  and  the  "  Sea  Otter," 
sent  out  from.  Calcutta  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Alaska.  The  commander  of  the 
former  vessel,'  Captain  Meares,  was  to  fill  an  important  place  in  the  history  of 
British  Columbia.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  British  navy  on  half  pay. 
When  in  October  the  "  Nootka  "  arrived  at  her  destination.  King  William's 
Sound,  she  found  that  the  "  Sea  Otter "  had  been  there  and  obtained  her 


20  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

cargo  of  furs  and  sailed  away.  No  further  tidings  of  this  vessel  were  ever 
heard.  Meares  being  obliged  to  winter  on  this  inhospitable  shore  lost  the 
greater  number  of  his  officers  and  crew  from  scurvy.  In  the  spring  his 
distress  was  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  two  trading  ships  from  England.  In 
return  for  their  aid  the  captains  of  these  vessels  insisted  that  Meares  should 
not  carry  on  any  further  traffic  with  the  Indians  on  the  coast,  but  should,  as 
soon  as  possible,  return  to  China.  He  therefore  set  sail  for  Macao.  He 
reached  the  harbor  of  Typa  and  ended  his  disastrous  voyage  by  being  forced, 
during  a  gale,  which  sprang  up  after  he  had  anchored,  to  run  his  ship  aground. 

The  ships  that  arrived  in  King  William's  Sound  in  the  spring  of  1787 
were  the  "  King  George,"  Captain  Portlock,  and  the  "  Queen  Charlotte,"  Cap- 
tain Dixon.  They  were  the  first  fur-traders  to  arrive  direct  from  London, 
and  their  vessels  were  well  equipped  with  everything  needed  for  a  successful 
venture.  Leaving  King  William's  Sound,  Dixon  sailed  southward,  trading 
as  he  went.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of  July  he  reached  a  cape  which  foiTned 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  land  along  which  he  had  been  sailing.  He 
called  the  point  Cape  St.  James  and  rounding  it,  steered  tO'  the  north.  He 
soon  saw,  as  Perouse  had  suspected,  that  he  had  been  following  the  coast  of 
a  large  island  or  group  of  islands  and  gave  them  the  name  of  his  vessel,  the 
Queen  Charlotte.  Dixon  then  steered  his  course  for  Nootka,  expecting  to 
meet  his  consort  the  "  King  George."  On  the  way  he  fell  in  with  the  "  Prince 
of  Wales  "  and  the  "  Princess  Royal  "  vessels,  belonging  to  the  same  company 
as  his  own,  that  of  the  Messrs.  Etches,  merchant  traders,  and  learned  from 
them  that  the  "  Prince  George  "  was  not  at  Nootka.  He  then  set  sail  for 
Macao  where  he  met  his  consort.  Their  furs  were  sold  for  fifty-four  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven  dollars,  and  having  loaded  their  ships  with 
tea,  Portlock  and  Dixon  returned  to  England. 

Captain  Duncan  of  the  "  Princess  Royal"  was  the  first  of  the  fur-traders 
to  pursue  his  calling  along  the  coast  of  the  mainland.  Calvert  and  Princess 
Royal  Islands,  as  well  as  Safety  Cove,  still  bear  the  names  given  by  him. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  21 

He  was  rewarded  for  his  enterprise  and  boldness  by  a  splendid  cargo  of  those 
sea  otter  skins,  which  were  the  only  furs  sought  by  these  early  traders. 

In  1787  Barclay  Sound  on  the  west  coast  of  Vancouver  Island  was  dis- 
covered by  Captain  Barclay  of  the  "  Imperial  Eagle,"  who  brought  his  wife 
with  him  on  this  hazardous  voyage.  The  natives,  who  had  previously  mur- 
dered the  Spaniards,  had  not  changed  in  the  interval,  for  a  party  from  the 
Imperial  Eagle  who  imprudently  went  up  a  small  river  in  one  of  the  boats 
near  the  Isle  de  Dolores  to  trade,  were  murdered.  From  this  circumstance 
Barclay  re-named  the  place  Destruction  Island.  A  brother  of  the  king  of 
Nootka,  chief  Comekela,  was  taken  away  in  the  Imperial  Eagle  when  she 
sailed  for  China.  The  next  year,  1788,  saw  the  arrival  of  the  first  ships 
from  the  United  States.  These  were  the  "  Columbia,"  Captain  John  Ken- 
drick,  and  the  "Lady  Washington,"  Captain  Robert  Gray.  The  next  year 
the  captains  exchanged  ships  and  Gray  with  the  "  Columbia  "  returned  to 
Boston  by  way  of  China  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  arriving  in  port  on 
August  ninth,  1790.  A  medal  was  struck  in  Boston  to  commemorate  this 
voyage,  which,  as  we  shall  see,  was  not  so  important  as  that  made  in  the  suc- 
ceeding year. 

Meanwhile  Captain  Meares,  nothing  daunted  by  his  terrible  experience 
in  King  William's  Sound,  had  undertaken  a  second  voyage  to  the  shores  of 
North  America.  This  time  he  was  bound  for  Nootka  Sound  and  had  deter- 
mined to  establish  a  trading  post  there.  His  expedition  consisted  of  two 
ships,  the  "  Felice  "  commanded  by  himself,  and  the  "  Iphigenia  Nubiana," 
under  Captain  William  Douglas.  Both  vessels  were  really  owned  by  a  com- 
pany of  British  merchants  resident  in  Canton,  but  to  evade  the  heavy  dues 
levied  by  China  on  all  foreign  vessels  except  those  belonging  to  Portugal,  the 
questionable  expedients  of  sailing  under  the  Portuguese  flag  and  making  out 
papers  in  the  name  of  a  Portuguese  were  resorted  to. 

The  sixteenth  of  May,  1788,  was  a  memorable  day  at  Nootka  Sound. 
The  "  Felice  "  had  arrived  on  the  thirteenth  and  found  that  the  chiefs  of 


22  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Nootka,  Maquinna  and  Callicum,  were  absent  at  Clayoquot  on  a  visit  of  state 
to  Wicananish,  a  powerful  chief  who  Hved  there.  On  the  sixteenth  they  re- 
turned and  seeing-  the  "  Felice  "  in  the  harbor,  these  painted  and  befeathered 
potentates  rowed  round  her  singing  an  address  of  welcome.  Captain  Meares 
had  brought  back  with  him,  Comekela,  who  had  been  taken  away  the  year 
before  by  the  "  Imperial  Eagle."  This  chief  was  returned  to  his  tribe  clad  in 
a  scarlet  coat,  a  military  hat  and  all  the  ornaments  which  he  had  been  able 
to  obtain.  Absurd  as  was  the  figure  he  presented  to  European  eyes,  his 
gorgeous  array  was  much  admired  by  his  countrymen,  and  he  was  greeted 
with  shouts  of  welcome  and  a  feast  made  in  his  honor. 

After  these  friendly  demonstrations  were  over  Captain  Meares  procured 
from  King  Maquinna  a  piece  of  land  on  the  shores  of  a  part  of  the  sound,  with 
the  appropriate  name  of  Friendly  Cove,  in  exchange  for  ten  sheets  of  copper 
and  other  trifling  articles.  Here  he  erected  a  large  building  to  serve  for 
workshop,  storehouse,  and  dwelling,  surrounded  it  with  a  breastwork  defended 
by  one  cannon.  This  work  completed  he  raised  for  the  first  time  on  the 
western  coast  of  America  the  British  flag.  This  little  establishment  of 
Meares  was  the  earliest  recorded  attempt  at  settlement  made  by  white  men 
on  the  northwest  coast  south  of  the  Russian  possessions.  Captain  Meares 
set  his  men  at  work  building  a  ship  and  proceeded  southward  on  a  trading 
and  exploring  expedition.  He  visited  the  redoubtable  Wicananish,  whom  he 
had  met  at  Nootka,  and  being  kindly  received,  anchored  in  a  secure  harbor. 
To  this  place  he  gave  the  name  of  Port  Con,  after  one  of  the  owners  of  the 
"  Felice."  After  the  universal  Indian  custom  the  visitors  were  feasted.  In 
return  for  this  hospitality  Meares  presented  Wicananish  with  two  copper 
kettles  and  some  blankets.  So  highly  were  these  presents  esteemed  that  the 
chief  gave  in  return  fifty  splendid  sea  otter  skins,  the  value  of  which  would 
not  be  less  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  fame  of  the  kettles 
spread  far  and  wide  and  Wicananish  was  forced  to  part  with  them  to  a 
hostile  and  rrwore  powerful  tribe.     Proceeding  on  his  journey  Captain  Meares 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  23 

recognized  the  spired  reck  described  nearly  two  hundred  years  before  by 
Juan  de  Fuca,  and  saw  stretching  away  to  the  east  the  channel  whose  exist- 
ence Cook  and  others  of  the  early  voyagers  to  this  coast  had  denied.  Meares 
at  once  named  the  inlet  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  In  the  evening  the 
"  Felice  "  crossed  to  a  barren  island  at  the  south  side  of  the  opening.  Here 
they  encountered  Tatooche,  a  powerful  Indian  chief,  and  a  large  number  of 
his  warriors.  The  Indians  at  first  showed  signs  of  hostility  and  Tatooche 
said  the  country  to  the  south  belonged  to  him.  In  the  end,  however,  the 
Indians  who  were  seated  in  their  canoes  entertained  their  visitors  with  a 
song  which  Captain  Meares  speaks  of  in  this  way : 

"  Situated,  as  we  were,  on  a  wild  and  unfrequented  coast  in  a  distant 
corner  of  the  globe,  far  removed  from  all  those -friends,  connections  and  cir- 
cumstances which  form  the  charm  and  comfort  of  life  and  taking'  our  course 
as  it  were  through  a  solitary  ocean ;  in  such  a  situation  the  simple  melody  of  the 
natives  proceeding  in  perfect  unison,  and  exact  measure  from  four  hundred 
voices  found  its  way  to  our  hearts,  and  at  the  same  moment  awakened  and 
becalmed  many  a  painful  thought." 

Nothing  strikes  the  reader  of  the  accounts  of  most  of  the  early  voyagers 
more  than  the  prudence  and  forbearance  which  the  British  sailors  exercised 
towards  the  natives.  On  the  one  hand  they  guarded  against  attack  and  on 
the  other  they  used  every  means  to  gain  the  good  will  of  the  savages.  The 
barren  island  from  which  Tatooche  had  come  still  bears  his  name.  Not  hav- 
ing time  to  explore  the  strait,  Meares  set  out  to  look  for  the  river  which  the 
Spaniards  had  named  San  Roque.  Although  he  named  the  promontory  to 
the  north  of  the  mouth  of  its  estuary.  Cape  Disappointment,  and  the  water 
to  tlie  south  of  it.  Deception  Bay,  Meares  could  discern  no  sign  of  the  great 
river.  The  explorer  then  returned  tO'  Barclay  Sound,  named  Cape  Beale,  and 
took  possession  of  Juan  de  Fuca  Strait  and  the  adjoining  territory  in  the 
name  of  King  George.  He  sent  out  a  boat  to  examine  the  Strait  of  Fuca 
and  get  if  possible  a  load  of  furs.     The  natives  proved  unfriendly,  and  after 


24  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

a  sharp  encounter  at  what  is  now  Port  San  Juan,  her  officer  was  glad  to  re- 
turn to  the  ship.  He  reported  that  the  strait  was  many  leagues  broad  with 
a  clear  horizon  stretching  away  to  the  northeastward.  When  Meares  reached 
Friendly  Cove  he  found  that  King  Maquinna  had  kept  faith  with  him  and 
that  the  fame  of  the  building  of  the  white  man's  canoe  had  attracted  the  In- 
dians from  all  directions.  Towards  the  end  of  August  the  "  Iphigenia " 
arrived,  having  visited  rnany  places  along  the  coast  of  the  mainland  between 
Cook's  River  and  the  north  of  Vancouver  Island.  On  the  twentieth  of  Sep- 
tember the  new  ship  was  launched  and  called  the  Northwest  America.  In 
honor  of  the  event  salutes  were  fired  from  the  "  Felice  "  and  the  "  Iphigenia," 
and  the  cannon  on  shore  was  discharged,  greatly  to  the  delight  of  the  natives. 
Captain  Gray  of  the  "  Washington  "  was  present  at  the  ceremony.  A  little 
later  Captain  Meares  set  sail  for  China  on  the  "  Felice  "  with  all  the  furs  that 
had  been  collected,  giving  orders  that  the  "  Iphigenia  "  and  the  "  Northwest 
America,"  which  had  been  put  in  charge  of  Robert  Hunter,  mate  of  the 
"  Felice,"  should  winter  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  returning  as  soon  as  possible 
in  the  spring  to  resume  the  fur  trade. 

Meares  promised  to  return  as  soon  as  possible  to  build  more  houses  and 
to  introduce  among  his  western  friends  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  far 
east.  Maquinna  before  his  departure  performed  the  ceremony  of  doing 
homage  to  his  English  friend.  He  took  his  tiara  of  feathers,  placed  it  on 
Meares'  head  and  dressed  him  in  his  robe  of  otter  skins.  Thus  arrayed 
Meares  was  requested  to  sit  down  on  a  chest  filled  with  human  bones,  Ma- 
quinna placing  himself  on  the  ground.  The  chief's  example  was  followed 
by  all  the  natives  present  when  they  sang  one  of  their  plaintive  songs.  Thus 
were  the  British  in  the  person  of  Meares  acknowledged  sovereigns  of  Nootka 
Sound.  Vancouver  Island  in  those  days  must  have  had  a  considerable 
population.  In  the  three  villages  of  Nootka,  Clayoquot  and  Port  Con  there 
were  twelve  thousand  souls. 

Meares  left  for  China  delighted  with  what  he  had  achieved  and  hoping 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  25 

that  the  future  held  in  store  for  him  still  greater  successes.     Alas  for  the 
vanity  of  human  expectations!     His  prosperity  was  shortlived  and  his  plans 
came  to  naught.     When  the  "  Iphigenia  "  and  the  "  Northwest  America  " 
returned  next  spring  they  found  that  the  United  States  ships  the  "  Columbia  " 
and  "  Washington "  had   wintered   in    Nootka    Sound.     The    "  Northwest 
America  "  was  at  once  sent  off  to  forestall  if  possible  the  American  traders  in 
the  rocky  marts  to  the  north.     As  the  "  Iphigenia  "  lay  in  the    harbor    of 
Nootka  on  the  sixth  of  May,  a  Spanish  ship  of  war,  the  "  Princesa,"  under 
command  of  Don  Stephen  Joseph  Martinez,  arrived  from  San  Bias  followed 
on  the  thirteenth  by  a  smaller  vessel,  the  "  San  Carlos."     At  first  Captain 
Douglas  and  Don  Martinez  were  very  friendly,  but  the  day  after  the  arrival 
of  the  "  San  Carlos  "  the  Spaniards  seized  the  "  Iphigenia,"  put  her  officers 
in  irons  and  took  possession,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain,  of  the  land 
and  buildings  belonging  to  Meares.     The  vessel  was  then  stripped  of  all  her 
stores,  provisions  and  merchandise,  even  her  instruments  and  charts  were 
carried  away.     The  only  thing  left  was  some  bars  of  iron.     The  Spanish 
commander  had  tried  to  induce  Captain  Douglas  to  sell  him  the  "  Northwest 
America,"  but  not  being  able  to  effect  his  purpose  he  had  insisted  upon  his 
writing  to  her  captain  ordering  him  to  deliver  his  vessel  to  the  Spaniards. 
Douglas  wrote  a  letter,  though  he  did  not  give  the  directions  ordered.    When 
it  had  been  delivered  to  Don  Martinez  the  British  ship  was  allowed  to  sail 
to  China  badly  fitted  out  for  such  a  long;  cruise.     However,  after  getting 
supplies  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  return  for  the  iron  which  had  been  left 
on  board,  she  reached  Macao,  much  to  the  relief  and  surprise  of  her  captain. 
The  "  Northwest  America  "  was  in  her  turn  seized,  her  cargo  of  furs  taken 
from  her  and  her  crew  put  on  board  the  "  Columbia."    She  was  then  sent  out 
on  a  trading  cruise  by  the  Spaniards.   The  captain  of  the  "  Columbia  "  at  the 
request  of  Don  Martinez  gave  these  British  sailors  a  passage  to  China.    When 
Meares  returned  to  China  he  sold  the  "  Felice "  and  his  company  allying 
themselves  with   Etches   Brothers,   he  obtained   control    of    the    "  Princess 


26  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Royal "  and  a  litle  ship  named  the  "  Argonaut."  James  Colnett  was  put  in 
charge  of  these  vessels  and  in  the  spring  of  1789  they  sailed  for  Nootka 
Sound.  As  soon  as  the  "  Argonaut"  appeared  in  sight  Don  Martinez  came 
out  to  meet  her,  and  by  pretending  to  be  in  distress  induced  Captain  Colnett 
to  come  into  Friendly  Cove  and  furnish  him  with  such  supplies  as  the  Span- 
iards required.  When  the  British  captain  hesitated  about  putting  his  vessel 
under  the  guns  of  two  foreign  ships,  Don  Martinez  assured  him  that  he  had 
only  come  to  the  Nootka  to  prevent  the  Russians  from  settling  on  that  part 
of  the  coast,  and  pledged  his  word  as  a  Spanish  gentleman  that,  having  given 
him  the  supplies  necessary  for  his  relief,  the  captain  of  the  Argonaut  might 
sail  away  at  his  own  convenience.  Captain  Colnett,  hiriiself  an  officer  in  the 
British  navy,  and  an  honorable  gentleman,  trusted  the  perfidious  Spaniard, 
but  no  sooner  was  he  in  his  power  than  he  and  his  officers  were  imprisoned, 
his  sailors  put  in  irons  and  his  ship  and  cargo  seized,  \yhen  the  "  Princess 
Royal  "  appeared  a  few  days  after  she  was  treated  in  a  similar  way.  Al- 
though Spain  and  England  were  at  peace  the  ships  were  taken  to  San  Bias  as 
prizes,  their  officers  and  crew  treated  with  every  indignity  and  their  com- 
mander frequently  threatened  with  instant  death.  Arriving  at  San  Bias  the 
Englishmen  were  induced  by  promises  of  speedy  release  to  repair  the  "  Ar- 
gonaut "  and  get  her  ready  for  sea.  When  this  was  done  their  inhuman  cap- 
tors laughed  at  their  credulity  and  sent  the  ship  away  on  a  voyage  for  their 
own  benefit.  The  prisoners  were  then,  however,  removed  to  Tepeak,  where 
they  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with  the  commander  of  the  squandron,  Don 
Bodega  y  Quadra,  who  obtained  for  Captain  Colnett  permission  to  go  to 
Mexico  to  lay  his  case  before  the  Viceroy  of  Spain.  On  hearing  his  story  that 
dignitary,  Don  Revillagigeda,  ordered  that  his  vessels  should  be  returned  to 
him,  and  that  having  been  supplied  with  all  necessaries  he  should  be  allowed  to 
return  to  China.  Thus  after  fifteen  months'  unlawful  capture  these  British 
subjects  obtained  release. 

When  news  of  these  highhanded  proceedings  reached  England  there  was 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  27 

great  indignation.  The  Spaniards  answered  the  demand  for  reparation  and 
satisfaction  by  declaring  that  British  subjects  had  no  rights  on  the  northwest 
coast  of  America,  as  it  belonged  to  Spain  by  virtue  of  previous  discovery. 
England  was  firm  in  her  demands  and  for  a  time  war  seemed  imminent. 
Eventually,  however,  a  convention  was  formed  and  the  treaty  of  Nootka 
agreed  upon.  By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  all  lands  or  buildings  taken  from 
British  subjects  must  be  restored  to  them.  Payment  must  be  made  for  all 
goods  or  other  property  seized  or  destroyed.  The  subjects  of  either  nation 
were  to  be  free  to  settle  or  trade  on  any  part  of  the  western  coast  of  America 
north  of  the  present  Spanish  settlements. 

Don  Martinez  was  at  once  recalled  from  Nootka  by  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. His  place  was  taken  by  Commander  Elisa,  who  was  shortly  after 
succeeded  by  the  humane  and  chivalrous  Quadra.  An  instance  of  the  in- 
humanity of  Martinez  towards  the  natives  is  given  in  Meares'  voyages  and 
was  witnessed  by  the  captain  of  the  "  Northwest  America."  The  Indian 
chief  Callicum,  who  had  treated  the  English  at  Friendly  Cove  with  the  great- 
est kindness  and  perfect  good  faith,  came  one  day  to  the  "  Princesa  "  to  pre- 
sent some  fish  to  the  commodore.  He  had  with  him  in  his  canoe  his  wife 
and  child.  He  was  received  rudely  and  as  he  rowed  away  uttered  an  im- 
patient exclamation.  Instantly  he  was  shot  through  the  heart.  The 
wretches  who  committed  this  wanton  murder  would  only  allow  the  bereaved 
father  to  recover  his  son's  body  when  he  had  purchased  the  privilege  by  bring- 
ing them  a  sufficient  number  of  furs. 

The  British  government  appointed  George  Vancouver  a  commissioner  to 
proceed  to  Nootka  and  receive  from  the  Spanish  commandant  stationed  there 
whatever  tracts  or  parcels  of  land  at  Nootka  and  in  the  vicinity  thereof  Brit- 
ish subjects  had  been  dispossessed  of  in  the  year  1789.  He  was  by  the  admi- 
ralty placed  in  command  of  His  Majesty's  ships  "  Discovery  "  and  "Chatham," 
with  orders  to  proceed  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  survey  the  coast  of  America 
from  latitude  thirty  degrees  to  sixty  degrees  north  and  to  ascertain  what 


28  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

passage  if  any  existed  to  the  eastward.  How  Vancouver  carried  out  his  in- 
structions will  form  the  subject  of  the  following  pages.  We  will  close  this 
with  a  brief  description  of  the  Spanish  explorations  of  this  period.  While 
Captain  Colnett  and  his  crew  were  toiling  beneath  the  heat  of  a  burning  sun 
to  fit  the  "  Argonaut "  for  a  voyage,  the  "  Princess  Royal,"  transformed  into 
the  "  Princesa  Real,"  was  under  command  of  the  Spanish  lieutenant,  Quimper, 
sailing  along  the  southern  shore  of  Vancouver  Island.  He  landed  at  what  is 
now  Sooke  Inlet,  in  June,  1790,  named  it  Porto  de  Revillagigeda  and  took 
possession  of  the  region  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain.  On  the  last  day 
of  the  month  he  anchored  in  Esquimalt  harbor,  which  he  named  Port  Cor- 
dova, after  Bucareti,  the  forty-sixth  viceroy  of  Mexico.  An  exploring  party 
.discovered  the  San  Juan  archipelago  and  Haro  strait,  which  still  bears  the 
name  given  it  by  Quimper.  He  crossed  to  the  opposite  shore,  but  stormy 
weather  prevented  his  making  any  further  discoveries  and  he  proceeded  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  the  ship  met  her  rightful  owner.  Captain  Col- 
nett, and  he,  by  order  of  the  Spanish  government,  was  put  in  possession  of 
her. 

Captain  Vancouver. 

To  none  of  her  explorers  does  British  Columbia  owe  such  a  debt  as  to 
Captain  Vancouver.  Others  came  to  her  shores  to  enrich  themselves  by  de- 
pleting the  rocks  and  waters  of  the  animals  whose  beautiful  furs  rendered 
them  the  prey  of  the  remorseless  hunter.  Vancouver,  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
duty,  spent  busy  days  and  toilsome  nights  to  bring  her  coasts  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  civilized  man.  From  the  day  that  he  first  viewed  her  rocky  shores 
till  hand  and  brain  were  still  in  death,  he  was  occupied  either  in  threading 
the  intricate  passages  that  wind  in  and  out  among  her  labyrinths  of  islands, 
in  exploring  the  deep  fiords  that  stretch  inland  through  the  shaggy  forests 
which  clothe  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  overlooking  the  ocean,  or  in  pre- 
paring a  record  of  his  voyages.     By  the  help  of  his  charts  the  mariner  can 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  29 

navigate  the  waters  of  the  north  Pacific,  and  in  many  places  nothing  has  been 
added  to  the  knowledge  gained  by  him  and  his  gallant  stafif  of  officers. 

Vancouver  left  England  on  April  i,  1791,  in  command  of  two  of  His 
Majesty's  ships,  the  "  Discovery  "  and  the  "  Chatham."  He  sailed  by  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  did  some  surveying  on  the  coast  of  Australia  and  landed 
at  Dusky  Bay,  New  Zealand,  to  refit  his  vessels.  At  the  Society  Islands, 
where  he  had  been  twice  before,  Vancouver  received  a  warm  welcome  from 
the  natives.  He  called  at  Hawaii  to  leave  a  native  called  Towereroo,  who 
had  been  taken  to  England,  with  his  friends  and  to  survey  more  thoroughly 
these  islands  where  his  beloved  superior  officer.  Captain  Cook,  had  met  so 
terrible  a  fate.  It  was  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1792,  before  Vancouver 
arrived  on  the  coast  of  America.  The  first  land  seen  was  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Cape  Mendocino.  As  he  neared  the  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  the 
United  States  ship  "  Columbia,"  Captain  Gray,  was  spoken.  Gray  told  Van- 
couver that  he  had  been  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  river  a  few  days  before,  but 
was  prevented  by  the  current  from  entering  it.  A  shore  time  after,  how- 
ever. Gray  was  able  to  sail  up  the  river  and  anchor  about  ten  miles  from  its 
mouth.  He  gave  it  the  name  of  his  vessel,  a  very  appropriate  one,  the  Co- 
lumbia. 

As  Vancouver's  ships  neared  Cape  Flattery  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  April, 
a  storm  came  on  which  added  to  the  gloom^  of  that  wild  region.  The  next 
day,  however,  the  weather  cleared  and  as  the  vessels  sailed  up  the  strait  the 
sky  was  so  cloudless  and  the  sea  so  smooth  that  Vancouver  was  able  in  the 
afternoon  to  take  a  lunar  observation.  A  little  later  a  magnificent  mountain 
peak,  whose  snow-covered  head  reflected  the  beams  of  the  setting  sun,  was 
seen  and  received  the  name  of  Lieutenant  Baker  of  the  "  Discovery."  In 
remembrance  of  a  similar  formation  of  land  on  the  shores  of  England,  a  low 
sandy  spit  near  which  the  ships  were  brought  to  anchor  was  called  New 
Dungeness.  On  May  first  the  boats  were  lowered  for  exploration.  In 
the  evening  a  large  bay  was  discovered  with  an  island  protecting  the  en- 


30  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

trance.  The  ships  were  anchored  in  this  bay,  which  was  called  Port  Discov- 
ery and  the  island  Protection  Island.  There  were  not  many  natives  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  those  that  were  seen  seemed  to  pay  no  attention  to  the 
strangers.  The  boats  were  again  embarked  and  Vancouver  set  out  on  his 
cruise  in  the  winding  sheet  of  water  which  still  recalls  the  name  of  Lieutenant 
Puget.  Whidby  Island,  near  the  entrance  of  the  sound,  was  called  after  the 
most  indefatigable  of  Vancouver's  assistants,  the  master  of  the  Discovery, 
Joseph  Whidby.  Many  bays,  promontories,  islands  and  inlets  were  ex- 
amined and  named  by  Vancouver  and  his  officers.  On  May  twenty-ninth, 
1792,  the  survey  of  Hood's  Canal,  Admiralty  Inlet  and  Puget  Sound  hav- 
ing been  completed,  Vancouver,  at  what  is  now  Port  Blakely,  but  which  he 
called  Restoration  Point,  took  solemn  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  George  III.  A  turf  was  turned,  the  British  jflag  hoisted,  the  crews  drank 
the  king's  health  and  the  guns  on  the  ship  fired  a  salute.  On  June  fifth  a 
northward  voyage  was  begun.  The  ships  passed  out  of  Admiralty  Inlet  and 
anchored  in  Birch  Bay,  near  Point  Roberts,  now  on  the  international  bound- 
ary. The  boats  were  sent  out.  After  examining  Point  Roberts  they  saw 
that  there  was  no  shelter  on  the  shoals  near  for  the  night'  that  was  coming 
on.  They  rowed  across  to  the  western  shore  and  spent  the  night  in  the 
shelter  of  a  rocky  bluff.  The  next  day  the  explorers  returned  and  landed  at 
Point  Grey.  The  distance  between  Point  Roberts  and  Point  Grey  is  nineteen 
miles.  Into  this  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  empties  the  Fraser  River.  Why 
Vancouver  did  not  read  in  the  shoals  at  this  place,  and  in  the  discoloration  of 
the  waters  of  the  sea,  the  signs  of  a  large  river  has  ever  since  been  a  mystery. 
But  if  the  Fraser  River  was  missed  Burrard  Inlet  was  thoroughly  explored. 
The  place  was  a  solitude.  Had  Vancouver  any  premonition  that  the  shores 
would  be  covered  with  a  great  city,  and  that  ships  compared  with  which  his 
own  would  seem  only  a  tiny  craft  would  convey  the  merchandise  of  the  world 
to  its  marts?  And  so  Vancouver  sailed  on,  naming  as  he  went  waters  and 
islands  after  his  friends  of  high  or  low  degree.     As  the  boats  returned  from 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  31 

Jervis  Inlet  vessels  were  seen  at  anchor  near  Point  Grey.  These  proved  to 
be  Spanish  men-of-war  under  command  respectively  of  Lieutenants  Galiano 
and  Valdez,  which  had  sailed  from.Nootka  June  fifth  on  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion. They  were  in  search  of  a  large  river  said  by  the  Indians  to  exist  on 
the  coasts  which  Vancouver  had  been  exploring,  but  as  yet  they  had  been 
unable  to  find  it.  E^ch  of  these  exploring  parties  showed  the  other  their 
charts  and  journals  and  they  worked  together  three  weeks.  The  Indians, 
the  Spaniards  reported,  said  that  the  waters  in  which  they  were  sailing  united 
with  the  ocean  to  the  north.  Vancouver  named  it  the  Gulf  of  Georgia. 
Several  villages  of  the  natives  were  visited  on  the  coast  of  the  mainland  and 
some  trading  was  done  here.  Passing  through  the  narrow  and  dangerous 
channel  called  after  one  of  his  officers,  Johnstone  Strait,  the  vessels  reached 
Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  where  they  narrowly  escaped  being  wrecked.  The 
coast  was  examined  as  far  as  fifty-two  degrees  eighteen  minutes  north,  when 
the  trading  brig  "  Venus,''  which  had  lately  visited  Nootka,  appeared  in  sight. 
Her  captain  informed  Vancouver  that  his  store  ship,  the  "  Daedalus,"  had 
arrived  at  that  place.  As  her  commander  had  been  murdered  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  Vancouver  determined  to  sail  straight  for  Nootka.  When  he 
arrived  there  he  found  that  Quadra,  the  Spanish  commandant,  had  preceded 
him.  The  British  officers  were  courteously  received  and  hospitably  treated 
by  Quadra  and  the  warmest  friendship  grew  up  between  the  two  commanders. 
When  Vancouver,  however,  asked  for  the  surrender  of  the  lands  which 
he  had  been  authorized  to  receive.  Quadra  declared  that  his  instructions  from 
the  Spanish  court  did  not  agree  with  the  tenor  of  Vancouver's  commission. 
Vancouver  then  sent  Zachary  Mudge,  first  lieutenant  of  the  Discovery,  in  a 
Portuguese  brig  to  China  with  dispatches  which  he  was  to  deliver  in  England 
as  soon  as  possible.  Quadra  left  Nootka  for  Monterey  in  September,  but 
before  he  went  the  large  island  of  which  Vancouver  had  completed  the  survey 
begun  many  years  ago  by  the  Spaniards,  was  at  Quadra's  suggestion  named 
by  Vancouver  the  Island  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver.     A  month  later  Van- 


32  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

couver  sailed  for  San  Francisco  with  the  purpose  of  exploring-  the  Columbia 
on  his  way.  When  he  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  the  weather  was 
stormy  and  he  was  obliged  to  commit  to-  Brouffhton,  the  commander  of  the 
smaller  vessel,  the  task  of  exploration.  The  Chatham  sailed  about  a  hundred 
miles  up  the  river,  and  Broug-hton  took  possession  of  it  and  the  adjoining 
territory  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  England,  claiming  that  as  the  United 
States,  Captain  Gray,  had  only  proceeded  ten  miles  from  the  coast  he  had 
not  really  discovered  the  river — not  a  very  ingenuous  contention.  This  ex- 
plorer learned  from  an  old  Indian  that  higher  up  falls  obstructed  the  river 
and  that  it  had  its  source  very  far  to  the  eastward.  The  "  Discovery,"  the 
"  Chatham "  and  the  "  Daedalus "  all  met  at  Monterey  on  September  26, 
1792.  Here  Vancouver  renewed  his  intercouse  with  his  friend  Quadra  and 
dispatched  Captain  Broughton  overland  to  England  to  learn  how  he  should 
proceed  in  the  Nootka  difficulty.  This  winter  was  also  spent  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  Here  Vancouver  charged  himself  with  the  duty  of  bringing 
the  murderers  of  the  officers  of  the  "  Daedalus  "  to  justice.  He  succeeded  in 
discovering  the  culprits  and  in  prevailing  upon  one  of  their  native  chiefs  to 
perform  the  office  of  executioner.  By  the  end  of  May  the  explorers  were 
again  at  work  at  Fitzhugh  Sound,  the  place  where  they  had  finished  their 
labors  the  previous  autumn.  During  this  season  the  coast  was  explored  to 
within  the  borders  of  Alaska.  Much  time  and  care  were  spent  in  examining 
the  region  on  what  is  now  the  extreme  northern  coast  of  British  Columbia, 
for  an  old  voyager,  Admiral  Fuentes,  had  reported  that  a  large  opening  ex- 
isted there  and  that  from,  it  a  chain  of  lakes  extended  across  the  continent. 
Vancouver  himself  took  charge  of  one  of  the  expeditions,  which  wound  in 
and  out  of  the  coast  for  seven  hundred  miles,  where  a  direct  course  north 
would  have  extended  only  sixty  miles.  On  this  journey  Vancouver's  boat 
was  attacked  by  a  party  of  natives  whose  leader  was  an  old  woman.  At  first 
the  gallant  officer  attempted  to  get  rid  of  his  dangerous  visitors  without  blood- 
shed, but  finding  all  his  efforts  vain  he  gave  the  order  to  fire.     At  the  first 


OREGON  RUFFED  GROUSE. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  33 

volley  the  Indians  took  to  the  water  and,  using  their  canoes  as  shields,  soon 
disappeared.  From  that  time  onwards  the  utmost  vigilance  was  used  to  be 
ready  for  attack  and  prevent  it  if  possible.  Needless  to  say.  Fuentes  passage 
was  not  discovered.  During  this  season  Vancouver's  ships  were  for  some 
time  anchored  in  Observatory  Inlet,  where  it  will  be  remembered  the  inter- 
national boundary  between  the  British  and  United  States  possessions  begins. 
The  explorations  were  continued  northward  past  the  mouth  of  the  Stickine 
River  to  a  place  called  Cape  Decision,  where  on  September  21,  1793,  they 
were  concluded  for  the  season.  After  calling  at  Nootka,  Vancouver  pro- 
ceeded south  and  finished  his  survey  in  that  direction,  which  ended  at  the 
thirtieth  parallel  of  north  latitude.  The  winter  was  spent  in  exploring  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  From  the  tropical  luxuriance  of  these  islands  the  explor- 
er shaped  his  course  to  the  rocks  and  glaciers  of  the  Alaskan  coast.  He  had 
determined  to  begin  his  season's  work  at  the  sixtieth  parallel,  and  working 
southward  complete  his  survey  of  the  whole  northwest  coast  at  Cape  Deci- 
sion, the  point  from  which  he  had  sailed  last  year.  He  reached  the  opening 
which  Captain  Cook  had  supposed  to  be  a  river  early  in  April.  The  weather, 
though  very  cold,  was  bright  and  the  view  of  the  surrounding  region,  com- 
prised of  stupendous  mountains  whose  rugged  and  romantic  forms  clothed 
in  perpetual  sheets  of  ice  and  snow,  presented  a  prospect,  though  magnificent- 
ly grand,  yet  dreary,  cold  and  inhospitable.  Upon  exploration  it  was  found 
that  the  sheet  of  water  was  not  a  river,  but  an  inlet.  Here  a  Russian  settle- 
ment was  found.  The  immigrants  had  lived  at  this  place  five  years  and  were 
on  friendly  terms  with  their  Indian  neighbors.  Some  weeks  after  Vancou- 
ver received  his  first  news  from  home.  He  had  passed  Yakutat  Bay  when  he 
met  Captain  Brown,  who  had  last  year  come  to  his  assistance  when  he  was 
in  danger  of  losing  his  vessel  in  a  rocky  channel.  Captain  Brown  had  in 
the  meantime  been  in  England  and  had  brought  out  the  momentous  tidings 
of  the  French  revolution,  and  of  the  war  between  France  and  England.  Here 
Vancouver  fell  ill,  but  Whidby  continued  the  task  of  exploration.     He  dis- 


84  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

covered  the  immense  mountain  of  ice,  which  has  since  received  the  name  of 
the  Muir  Glacier.  There  is  now  a  bay  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  called 
Glacier  Bay,  but  Whidby  found  no  such  inlet.  His  account  agrees  with  the 
tradition  of  the  Indians.  Lynn  Canal,  so  familiar  as  the  entrance  to  the 
Yukon,  was  discovered  by  Whidby  and  received  from  Vancouver  the  name 
of  his  birthplace,  Lynn,  in  Norfolk.  The  natives  here  were  found  to  be  a 
fierce,  treacherous,  warlike  race,  and  Whidby  had  to  use  all  his  vigilance  to 
escape  their  attacks.  They  had  been  supplied  with  arms  by  the  Russian  trad- 
ers of  New  Archangel,  a  proceeding  which  roused  the  indignation  of  Van- 
couver. The  boats  which  had  been  sent  out  in  different  directions  to  com- 
plete the  last  section  of  the  survey  met  in  Frederick  Sound  on  the  sixteenth 
of  April,  1794,  and  on  the  nineteenth  returned  to  the  ships.  The  great  work 
was  finished,  and  Vancouver  speaks  of  the  fact  in  the  following  terms : 
"  The  accomplishment  of  an  undertaking,  the  laborious  nature  of  which  can 
be  easily  perceived,  and  which  had  required  their  unwearied  attention,  abili- 
ties and  exertions  for  three  years  to  bring  to  a  successful  conclusion,  could 
not  fail  of  exciting  in  all  on  board  the  '  Discovery  '  and  '  Chatham  '  sensa- 
tions of  the  most  pleasing  and  satisfactory  nature." 

On  September  second  the  ships  arrived  at  Nootka  and  there  Vancouver 
heard  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  friend  Quadra.  At  Monterey 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  learning  that  he  was  right  in  his  interpretation  of 
the  treaty  of  Nootka,  and  that  the  whole  port  of  Nootka  harbor  and  Port 
Cox,  with  the  adjacent  country,  would  be  delivered  to  Great  Britain.  A  new 
commission  had  been  issued  from  the  court  of  London,  but  not  addressed  to 
Vancouver.  He  therefore  set  out  on  his  homeward  voyage.  On  their  way 
home  the  ships  captured  a  Dutch  East  Indiaman  named  the  Malacca,  as  war 
had  been  declared  with  Holland.  The  "Discovery"  and  "Chatham" 
reached  England  in  September,  1795,  having  been  absent  nearly  five  years. 
Before  he  had  completed  the  preparation  of  his  journals,  Vancouver  died, 
May  10,  1798,  at  the  early  age  of  forty.     It  is  by  the  simple,  unostentatious 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  35 

devotion  to  duty  of  such  men  as  Vancouver  that  Eng-land  has  won  her  great  - 
est  victories  whether  in  peace  or  war.  He,  in  his  Hfetime,  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  he  had  done  his  work  well,  and  posterity  sees  in  the 
grand  scenery  of  British  Columbia,  his  monument. 

The  commissioner  appointed   to   succeed    Vancouver    was    Lieutenant 
Thomas  Pierce.     On  the  twenty-eighth  of  March,   1795,  he  received  from 
General   Alva,   the   Spanish  commissioner,  the  lands   formerly  occupied  by 
the  British,  and  the  Spaniards  having  dismantled  their  fort  Lieutenant  Pierce 
hoisted  the  British  flag  in  token  of  possession.     Strange  to  say  this  harbor 
of  Nootka  Sound,  the  first  point  on  the  northwest  coast  to  be  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  world,  and  for  ten  years  the  resort  of  explorers  and  traders  from 
all  quarters,  has  not  since  the  departure  of  the  Spaniards  been  the  home  of 
civilized  man.     Even  the  natives  have  almost  disappeared.     Less  than  three 
hundred  of  the  three  thousand  Indians  with  whom;  Meares  traded,  survive 
to  attend  the  little  church  which  the  zeal  of  the  Roman  Catholic  missionary 
at  Hesquiat  has  placed  among  them.    At  a  small  store  in  the  cove,  a  successor 
of    the    old    time    traders    strives    to    make    gain    of    the    Indians    who, 
however,  have  long  ago  learned  the  true  value  of  the  white  man's  wares. 
Not  a  trace  of  the  fortifications  of  either  of  the  rival    nations    remains    at 
Friendly  Cove,  and  the  visitor  sees  little  in  the  village  to  tempt  him  to  lingef 
in  Nootka  Sound. 


36  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


CHAPTER  IV. 
LAND   EXPEDITIONS  AND  THEIR  OUTCOME. 

After  Vancouver  there  was  a  second  lull  in  the  interest  attached  to  the 
fortunes  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  There  were  trading  vessels  from  a  number 
of  countries,  principally  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  that  came  to 
traffic  in  the  sea  otter,  which  gradually  became  scarcer  until  they  ceased  to  be 
profitable  and  sought  for  as  formerly.  After  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
had  firmly  established  itself  on  the  northwest  coast,  subsequent  to  the  amal- 
gamation with  the  Northwest  Company,  in  182 1,  the  navigation  of  the  north 
Pacific  was  practically  limited  for  a  number  of  years  to  their  ships,  and  an 
occasional  man  of  war.  It  will  be  permissible  here  to  quote  from  the  Year 
Book  of  British  Columbia  (1897),  a  summarized  account  of  the  conditions 
which  prevailed  after  Vancouver  took  his  departure  for  England,  and  it  may 
be  incidentally  remarked  the  period  immediately  succeeding  were  dark  days 
for  not  only  England,  but  for  all  Europe. 

"  As  has  already  been  stated,  the  Spaniards  abandoned  the  country  after 
the  Nootka  affair  was  terminated  and  never  afterwards  made  any  attempt 
at  exploration  or  discovery  in  these  waters.  As  a  matter  of  fact.  Great  Brit- 
ain herself  ceased  to  take  any  interest  in  it,  and  practically  abandoned  it  as 
well.  It  is  true  the  victory  was  with  the  British,  but  largely  on  account  of 
the  negative  attitude  of  Spain,  to  which  she  was  forced  by  her  continental 
position;  but  the  unsatisfactory  terms  of  the  settlement  could  hardly  be  re- 
garded a  victory  of  diplomacy.  They  left  wide  open  a  ground  of  dispute, 
which  was  the  cause  of  subsequent  complications  when  the  Oregt)n  boundary 
came  to  be  fixed.  Notwithstanding  that  Spain  took  no  direct  part  or  interest 
in  it,  the  United  States  government,  claiming  to  inherit  lier  rights,  did  not 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  37 

fail  to  take  advantage  of  the  terms  of  the  convention,  which  the  great  Fox 
at  the  time  properly  denounced  as  a  blunder. 

"  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  setlement  of  the  Nootka  affair  left 
matters  on  this  coast  in  a  very  uncertain,  indefinable  statu  quo.  For  some 
years  a  long  stretch  of  the  Pacific  territory  was  in  reality  "  No  Man's  Land," 
and  it  is  not  in  any  sense  due  to  the  prescience  or  wisdom  of  British  states- 
men of  these  days^  that  it  is  British  territory  today.  To  the  enterprise  of  the 
Northwest  Company,  and  of  its  legitimate  successor,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, is  due  any  credit  that  may  attach  to  an  accomplishment  we  now  ap- 
praise so  highly.  The  traders  of  that  powerful  organization  pushed  their 
way  through  to  the  coast  by  way  of  New  Caledonia  and  the  southv,m  passes 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  carrying  with  t  lem  the  supremacy  of  the  British 
flag  and  extending  the  authority  of  the  Canadian  laws,  and  finally  occupied 
practically  the  whole  of  the  Pacific  Coast  from  Russian  America  to  Mexico. 
That  we  do  not  occupy  the  whole  of  the  Pacific  slope  today  was  no  fault  of 
theirs.  However,  in  placing  an  estimate  upon  the  statesmanship  of  Great 
Britain,  which  permitted  by  a  policy  of  laissez-faire  so  much  territory  to  slip 
through  her  hands,  we  must  consider  the  circumstances  and  conditions  of  the 
the  times,  the  remoteness  of  the  country,  the  almost  total  lack  of  knowledge 
concerning  it,  and  the  general  indifference  which  existed  regarding  its  future. 
Men  ofttimes  are,  but.  cannot  ordinarily  be  expected  to  be,  wiser  than  they 
know.  In  view  of  all  that  has  happened  to,  and  in,  the  North  American 
continent  since  that  time,  there  is  reason  to  be  thankful  that  there  has  been 
left  to  us  so  glorious  a  heritage  as  we  now  possess. 

"  Several  fearful  tragedies  in  which  the  Indians  were  concerned  are 
recorded  to  have  taken  place  on  this  coast  when  the  fur  trade  was  at  the 
'height  of  prosperity.  One  was  the  destruction  in  1803  of  the  American  ship 
'  Boston  '  by  the  natives  at  Nootka  Sound,  all  the  crew  being  murdered  with 
the  exception  of  the  armourer,  Jewitt,  and  the  sail-maker,  Thompson,  who 
were  kept  in  slavery  four  years  by  the  Chief  Maquinna  of  Vancouver  and 


38  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Quadra's  Bay.     In  1805  ^^e  American  ship  'Atahualpa,'  of  Rhode  Island, 
was  attacked  by  the  savages  of  Millbank  Sound  and  her  captain,  mate  and 
six  seamen  were  killed,  after  which  the  other  seaman  succeeded  in  repelling 
the  assailants  and  saving  the  vessel.     In  the  same  manner  the  *  Tonquin,'  of 
Boston,  was  in  June,  181 1,  attacked  by  the  natives  whilst  at  anchor  in  Clayo- 
quot  Sound,  and  nearly  the  whole  crew  murdered.     Five  of  the  survivors 
managed  to  reach  the  cabin,  and  from  that  vantage  ground  drove  the  savages 
from  the  vessel.     During  the  night  four  of  these  men  left  the  ship  in  a  boat, 
and  were  ultimately  murdered  by  the  Indians.     The  day  after  the  attack  on 
the  vessel,  all  being  quiet  on  board,  the  savages  crowded  the  decks  for  the 
purpose  of  pillage,  when  the  ship  suddenly  blew  up,  causing  death  and  de- . 
struction  to  all  on  board.     About  one  hundred  natives  were  killed  by  the  ex- 
plosion, and  this  tragic  ending  has  always  been  ascribed  to  the  members  of 
the  crew  secreted  below." 

Alexander  Mackenzie. 

While  Vancouver  was  seeking  in  vain  to  find  a  waterway  through  the 
North  American  continent,  a  man  of  kindred  spirit  was,  with  no  less  persever- 
ance and  with  perhaps  greater  difficulty,  making  his  way  from  the  great 
plains  of  the  Northwest  over  the  rocky  region  that  divides  them  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  Alexander  Mackenzie  was  a 
partner  in  the  Northwest  Company,  which  was  at  that  time  striving  to  wrest 
from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  the  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  im- 
mense region  to  the  north  and  west  of  Canada  that  it  had  held  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years.  The  Northwest  Company  was  founded  in  Montreal  in  1783 
and  consisted  chiefly  of  Scotchmen  who  had  made  Canada  their  home.  Among 
these  was  Alexander  Mackenzie,  one  of  the  Mackenzies  of  Seaforth  in  Storna- 
wery,  Island  of  Lewis.  Having  proved  himself  brave  and  enterprising,  Mac- 
kenzie was  sent  to  one  of  the  company's  outposts,  Fort  Chippewayan  on  Atha- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  39 

basca  Lake.  In  the  year  1789  he  discovered  the  great  river  which  bears  his 
name  and  followed  its  course  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Not  seeing  how  it  was 
possible  to  reach  the  Pacific  from  the  ice-bound  region  which  he  was  the  first 
civilized  man  to  behold,  Mackenzie  determined  to  find  a  western  road  to  its 
shores.  Accordingly,  having  prepared  for  the  task  he  had  set  himself  by 
going  to  England  and  studying  astronomy  and  the  use  of  instruments,  Mac- 
kenzie set  out  from  Chippewayan  on  October  10,  1792.  He  took  the  western 
branch  of  the  Peace  River,  and  at  a  place  a  short  distance  from  the  Forks  he 
made  his  winter  home.  Two  men  had  been  sent  forward  during  the  summer 
to  prepare  timber,  so  Mackenzie  was  able  to  proceed  rapidly  with  the  work  of 
building  a  trading  post.  The  winter  was  unusually  cold,  though  not  un- 
pleasant. Tliere  were  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  who  had  previously  given 
the  fur  traders  some  trouble.  Mackenzie  called  them  together  and  repri- 
manded themi  for  their  bad  conduct,  at  the  same  time  giving  them  presents 
and  showing  them  the  benefits  to  be  got  by  treating  the  white  men  well. 
Both  among  the  Peace  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Indians  the  women 
were  greatly  inferior  to  the  men  in  personal  appearance.  Yet,  though  they 
were  kept  in  a  state  of  abject  slavery,  they  were  not  without  influence  in  the 
councils  of  the  tribe.  There  was  much  sickness  among  these  natives  and 
Mackenzie  was  often  called  upon  tO'  play  the  part  of  physician  and  surgeon, 
which  he  did  with  great  humanity  and  no  little  skill.  The  explorer  speaks  of 
the  warm  southwest  winds  since  called  the  Chinook  winds,  which  moderate 
the  climate  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

On  the  9th  of  May  the  river  was  clear  of  ice  and  the  exploring  party  in 
a  light  but  very  heavily  laden  canoe.  It  consisted  of  Mackenzie  himself  and 
his  lieutenant,  Alexander  MacKay,  six  French  Canadians,  two  Indian  hunters, 
and  an  interpreter.  With  infinite  toil  these  hardy  boatmen  forced  their  way 
against  the  current  of  the  Peace  river.  Many  times  they  were  obliged  to 
unload  their  canoe  and  carry  boat  and  cargo  along  the  steep  wooded  banks  of 
the  river.     Often  their  frail  bark  was  caught  in  the  rapids  and  dashed  against 


40  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  rocks.  Sometimes  they  drew  it  along  by  lines  fastened  to  trees  on  the 
impending-  precipice,  at  others  they  guided  its  course  by  catching  hold  of  over- 
hanging branches.  Night  frequently  overtook  them  where  there  was  not  a 
landing  place  large  enough  to  afford  a  resting  place  for  their  exhausted 
frames.  But  a  life  of  privation  and  hardship  was  the  lot  of  these  voyageurs, 
and  a  big  camp  fire,  a  comfortable  meal  and  a  glass  of  rum  rarely  failed  to 
restore  their  good-humor  and  make  them  forget  their  fatigue. 

By  the  end  of  May  they  found  that  the  river  again  divided  and  they  took 
the  southern  branch.  Mackenzie  tells  us  that  wild  parsnips  abounded  here, 
and  that  their  tops  made  a  pleasant  and  refreshing  addition  to  the  diet  of  the 
explorers.  In  this  vicinity  Indians  were  met  who,  though  at  first  terrified  by 
a  party  of  white  men,  were  reassured  by  the  fearless  yet  kind  demeanor  of 
their  leader.  They  told  him  that  there  were  Indians  eleven  days'  march  away 
who  traveled  a  moon  to  another  nation  who  live  in  houses.  These  people 
extended  their  journey  to  the  seacoast  and  traded  with  white  men  who  came  in 
vessels  as  big  as  islands.  Mackenzie  could  not,  however,  obtain  any  informa- 
tion concerning  the  river  which  he  sought,  but  one  of  the  young  men  con- 
sented to  accompany  the  party  as  a  guide. 

On  the  9th  of  June  the  explorers  entered  a  lake  two  miles  long  by  five 
hundred  yards  wide  which  Mackenzie  believed  to  be  the  source  of  the  Peace 
River.  Beyond  this  lake  was  a  swampy  region  where  the  streams  were  en- 
cumbered with  falling  trees.  Here  their  progress  was  slow.  Mackenzie, 
seeing  that  unless  provision  were  made  for  the  homeward  journey  the  party 
would  be  in  danger  of  starvation,  buried  pemmican  of  the  21st  of  June. 
Making  their  way  as  best  they  could  from  one  stream  to  another,  the  ex- 
plorers at  last  found  they  had  a  river  whose  current  was  carrying  them  on- 
wards. The  banks  soon  grew  steep  and  the  rapids  frequent.  The  men  were 
in  peril  of  their  lives,  and  their  canoe  was  continually  being  pierced  by  the 
jagged  rocks. 

A  large  party  of  Indians  and  their  families  came  up  the  river  in  canoes. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  41 

They  at  first  showed  signs  of  hostihty,  but,  as  before,  Mackenzie  was  able 
to  induce  some  of  them  to  enter  into  conversation  with  him  and  to  obtain 
guides.  He  learned  that  the  river  ran  south,  its  banks  were  steep,  its  current 
rapid  and  dangerous  and  the  natives  fierce.  A  few  days  later  he  .was  able  to 
get  from  a  native  of  another  party  a  plan  of  the  river  which  he  supposed  to 
be  the  Columbia.  This  Indian  told  Mackenzie  that  there  was  a  well-beaten 
path  which  led  to  the  coast,  but  that  the  strangers  had  passed  the  opening  into 
it  some  days  ago.  The  story  of  the  dangers  of  the  route  was  repeated,  and 
at  last  Mackenzie  became  convinced  that  it  would  be  useless,  even  if  it  were 
practicable  to  go  any  further  down  the  river.  The  place  where  Mackenzie 
came  to  this  resolution  was  on  the  Fraser  River  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Quesnel.  He  procured  material  for  a  new  canoe  and  again  began  rowing 
against  the  current.  On  the  ist  of  July  he  put  his  men  on  short  allowance, 
and  on  the  4th,  having  reached  the  west  road,  he  hung  up  his  canoe,  made  a 
cache  where  another  portion  of  their  scant  provisions  was  left  behind. 

As  was  very  natural,  the  hardships  and  uncertainties  of  the  journey  and 
the  determination  to  leave  the  river  and  adopt  with  unreliable  guides  an  un- 
known route  overland,  occasioned  great  dissatisfaction  among  Mackenzie's 
men.  When,  however,  they  saw  that  their  leader's  resolution  was  unalter- 
able, and  that  if  they  abandoned  him  he  would  proceed  alone,  they  determined 
to  accompany  him.  On  this  as  other  occasions,  Mackenzie  owed  much  to  his 
friend  MacKay.  The  party  then  set  out,  each  man  carrying  a  heavy  burden. 
The  road  seems  to  have  been  a  well  beaten  one  and  several  parties  of  Indians 
were  met  with.  At  the  first  of  these  encampments  they  noticed  in  the  ears 
of  one  of  the  children  two  coins,  one  English  and  the  other  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  bearing  the  date  of  1787. 

On  the  loth  of  July  the  explorers  reached  an  Indian  village  near  which 
was  a  burial  place.  Here  they  were  kindly  treated.  A  few  days  later  they 
met  a  party  of  Northern  Indians.  Here  for  the  first  Mackenzie  speaks  of 
the  women  as  taking  great  pains  with  their  personal  appearance.     The  men, 


42  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

too,  were  tall  and  well  dressed.    The  eyes  of  these  people  were  gray,  with  a 
tinge  of  red,  and  their  complexion  fairer  than  that  of  any  natives  he  had  seen. 

Soon  after  this  the  explorers  reached  a  mountainous  region.  Having 
climbed  over  a  ridge  they  arrived  at  a  place  where  there  is  a  confluence  of 
two  rivers  crossed  by  one  to  the  left.  Here  the  weary,  half-starved  travelers 
were  hospitably  entertained  at  a  large  village  inhabited  by  a  tribe  of  fisher- 
men, whose  skill  in  taking  and  curing  salmon  excited  their  admiration.  They 
procured  a  canoe  at  this  place  and  proceeded  down  the  river  now  known  as 
the  Bella  Coola.  They  next  stopped  at  a  village  where  the  women  were 
employed  in  manufacturing  cloth  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar  tree.  Here 
also  they  were  kindly  treated.  As  they  neared  the  sea  the  natives  seemed 
to  be  less  prosperous.  On  the  20th  of  June  Mackenzie  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Bella  Coola,  which  empties  not  intO'  the  open  ocean,  but  into  one  of  the 
numerous  channels  which  pierce  the  coast  of  British  Columbia.  Not  satisfied 
with  meeting  the  water,  Mackenzie  proceeded  down  Labouchere  Channel 
towards  the  sea.  Here  for  the  first  time  the  explorers  were  in  great  peril  of 
destruction  from  a  band  of  hostile  natives.  The  most  troublesome  of  them 
declared  he  had  been  ill-treated  by  white  men  whom  he  called  Macubah  and 
Bensins.  When  Mackenzie  afterwards  learned  that  Vancouver  had  explored 
Burke  Channel  that  season,  he  interpreted  these  names  as  Vancouver  and 
Johnstone.  The  party  was  forced  to  take  refuge  for  the  night  on  a  rocky 
island  and  in  the  morning  Mackenzie  painted  in  melted  grease  and  vermilion 
on  the  face  of  the  rock  the  words : 

"  Alexander  Mackenzie,  From  Canada  by  Land,  The  Twenty  Second  of 
July,  One  Thousand,  Seven  Hundred  and  Ninety  Three." 

The  place  where  Mackenzie's  journey  ended  was  in  latitude  52°  20'  48" 
N.  A  few  hours  afterwards  the  great  explorer  had  good  reason  to  fear  that 
this  brief  record  of  his  journey  would  be  the  only  one  made,  for  they  again 
encountered  the  savages  in  greatly  increased  numbers,  and  the  little  band  of 
almost  expended  travelers  seemed  doomed  to  destruction.     Mackenzie,  how- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  43 

ever,  was  able  not  only  to  repulse  them,  but  to  force  them  to  restore  some 
articles  they  had  carried  off  the  previous  day.  He  lived  to  return  to  his 
native  land,  and  to  receive  from  the  King  of  England  the  honor  of  Knight- 
hood, an  honor  seldom  won,  even  in  the  brave  days  of  old,  by  a  more  gallant 
or  a  more  blameless  knight. 

LEv^^Is  AND  Clark  Expedition. 

When  in  1803  Louisiana  was  purchased  from  France  by  the  United 
States,  the  government  determined  to  explore  the  new  territory.  President 
Jefferson  accordingly  planned  an  expedition  for  discovering  the  courses  and 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  and  the  most  convenient  waterways  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  leaders  of  the  exploring  party,  which  was  splendidly  equipped, 
were  the  president's  secretary,  Meriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clark.  Both 
were  captains  in  the  United  States  army.  Besides  the  captains  there  were 
forty-three  persons.  They  set  out  in  three  boats  heavily  laden  with  stores, 
and  materials  for  presents  for  the  Indians.  The  party  wintered  at  Wood 
River  and  on  May  14,  1804,  set  out  on  their  voyage  up  the  Missouri.  On  the 
25th  of  the  same  month  they  passed  the  last  white  settlement  on  the  river,  a 
French  village  called  La  Charette.  When  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Osage  River  at  the  beginning  of  June,  the  Indians  there  refused  to  believe 
that  Spain  had  parted  with  Louisiana.  The  explorers  were,  however,  able 
to  show  the  Indians  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  really  suc- 
ceeded to  the  power  of  Spain.  On  the  12th  of  June  a  party  of  Sioux  came 
down  the  river,  and  the  explorers  were  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  as  guide 
and  interpreter  a  man  named  Durion,  who  had  lived  for  twenty  years  among 
those  formidable  savages. 

In  the  Autumn  Lewis  and  Qark  arrived  at  the  Mandan  country,  where 
they  resolved  to  winter.  These  Indians,  the  most  civilized  of  the  North 
American  -  tribes,  had  long  been  friendly  to  the  white  men,  and  during  their 
stay  among  them  the  explorers  found  them  intelligent  and  friendly.     Sev- 


44        .  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

eral  of  the  leading-  men  of  the  Northwest  Company  visited  this  place  during 
the  autumn  and  winter.  Among  them  were  McCracken,  McKenzie.  and 
Leroche.  The  last  named  trader  offered  to  join  the  expedition,  but  his  serv- 
ices were  declined. 

At  the  beginning  of  April  the  expedition  divided.  Sixteen  men  were 
sent  back  to  make  a  report  to  the  government  of  what  had  been  done,  and 
thirty-two  proceeded  up  the  river.  In  the  latter  party  was  an  Indian  woman, 
the  wife  of  Carbonneau,  an  interpreter.  Her  name  was  Sacajawea,  or  the 
Birdwoman.  She  had  been  captured  from  the  Shoshones,  a  tribe  living 
among  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  who  proved  a  useful  member  of  the  party. 
On  Sunday,  May  26,  Captain  Lewis  obtained  his  first  view  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Thus  far  the  course  of  the  explorers,  though  sometimes  toilsome, 
had  been  neither  dangerous  nor  uncertain.  However,  they  found  that  one 
branch  of  the  river  tended  north,  while  the  other  ran  in  a  southerly  direction. 
They  could  not  ascertain  which  was  the  main  river,  and  Captain  Lewis  went 
north  into  Maria's  River  to  explore.  When  he  became  convinced  that  no 
river  rising  near  the  source  of  this  stream  could  reach  the  western  ocean  he 
returned.  At  the  junction  of  the  rivers,  in  latitude  47°  25'  17.2"  the  ex- 
plorers lightened  their  load  by  leaving  behind  everything  that  they  could 
spare. 

On  the  1 2th  of  June  they  reached  the  falls  of  the  Missouri.  Here  expe- 
ditions set  out  in  different  directions  to  seek  for  the  best  route.  There  was 
no  want  of  adventure  in  this  region.  Bears  were  frequently  met  with  and 
buffalo  hunting  praved  dangerous  sport.  Waterfalls  and  precipices  made 
travel  either  by  boat  or  by  foot  hazardous.  On  the  29th  of  June  Captain 
Lewis,  Sacajawea  with  her  child  and  husband  were  almost  carried  down  the 
river  by  a  cloud  burst.  After  about  a  month's  careful  exploring-  the  junction 
of  three  streams  was  reached.  These  were  called  the  Jefferson,  Madison  and 
Gallatin,  Following  the  longest,  the  Jefferson,  the  party  on  the  12th  of 
August  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri.     Lewis  writes  of  this  dis- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  45 

covery,  "  At  the  distance  of  four  miles  further  the  road  took  us  to  the  most 
distant  fountain  of  water,  the  mighty  Missouri,  in  search  of  which  we  have 
spent  so  many  toilsome  days  and  restless  nights.  Thus  far  I  had  accomplished 
one  of  those  great  objects  on  which  my  mind  had  been  unalterably  fixed  for 
many  years;  judge  then  of  the  pleasure  I  felt  in  allaying  my  thirst  with  this 
pure,  ice-cold  water  which  issues  from  the  base  of  a  low  mountain  or  hill  of 
a  gentle  ascent  for  half  a  mile.  The  mountains  are  high  on  either  hand,  but 
leave  this  gap  at  the  head  of  this  rivulet  through  which  the  road  passes.  Here 
I  halted  a  few  minutes  and  rested  myself.  Two  miles  below,  McNeal  had 
exultingly  stood  with  one  foot  on  each  side  of  this  little  rivulet  and  thanked 
his  God  that  he  had  lived  to  bestride  the  mighty  and  hitherto  deemed  endless 
Missouri." 

They  climbed  a  mountain  ridge  and,  looking  around  them,  saw  the  snow- 
covered  mountains  which  now  form  the  boundary  line  between  Montana  and 
Idaho.  "  They  followed  a  descent  much  steeper  than  that  on  the  eastern  side, 
and  at  a  distance  of  the  three-quarters  of  a  mile  reached  a  handsome,  bold  creek 
of  cold,  clear  water,  running  to  the  westward.  They  stopped  to  taste  for  the 
first  time  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  and  after  a  few  minutes  followed  the 
road  across  steep  hills  and  low  hollows  till  they  reached  a  spring  on  the  side 
of  a  mountain." 

The  first  part  of  the  commission  of  the  explorers  had  now  been  accom- 
plished, but  the  most  difficult  task  was  still  before  them.  As  they  searched 
for  some  path  by  which  they  could  reach  the  navigable  part  of  the  river  they 
met  a  band  of  Shoshone  Indians.  Among  them  Sacajawea  recognized  a 
dear  friend  who  had  been  a  fellow  prisoner,  and  who  greeted  her  very  affec- 
tionately. The  chief  of  the  tribe  proved  to  be  her  brother.  Lewis  and  Clark 
smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  with  these  Indians  and  gave  the  chiefs  medals  bear- 
ing the  image  of  Washington.  To  the  people  many  presents  were  given. 
The  Shoshone  Indians  have  a  curious  custom  of  removing  their  shoes  before 
beginning  their  council,  and  they  insisted  upon  the  white  men  following  their 


46  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

example.     Food  was  given  the  travelers,  and  to  their  surprise  and  delight  one 
of  the  dishes  was  a  fresh  salmon.     They  received  this  as  evidence  that  they 
could  not  be  far  from  a  river  by  which  they  could  reach  the  ocean.     They 
were  able  to  procure  horses  with  which  they  were  to  proceed  on  their  journey. 
On  August  1 8  Captain  Lewis  kept  his  thirty-first  birthday.     On  this  oc- 
casion he  tells  us  he  was  resolved  "  to  live  in  future  for  mankind  as  I  have 
formerly  lived  for  myself,"  a  resolution  which  one  would  think  it  was  not 
necessary  for  a  young  man  to  make  who  had  spent  "  toilsome  days  and  rest- 
less nights  "  in  order  to  bring  an  unknown  region  to  the  knowledge  of  civ- 
ilized man.     On  the  21st  of  August  Captain  Clark  discovered  salmon  weirs 
on  the  bank  of  a  river  and  named  the  stream  after  his  brother  explorer,  the 
Lewis  River.     The  country  was  terribly  rough  and  there  was  no  game  to  be 
seen.     The  Indians  whom  they  met  used  sunflower  seeds  and  the  roots  of  a 
plant  called  "  yamp  "  to  eke  out  their  slender  store  of  food.    Towards  the  end 
of  August  the  Shoshone  Indians  who  had  accompanied  them  on  their  journey 
wished  to  leave  them  and  join  the  hunting  parties  that  were  going  to  the 
plains  to  hunt  buffalo  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.     Captain  Lewis  was, 
however,  able  to  persuade  them  to  remain  with  him  some  time  longer.     The 
difficulty  of  getting  enough  horses  for  so  large  a  party  retarded  their  progress. 
At  the  beginning  of  September  the  explorers  fell  in  with  a  party  of  Indians 
called  Citashoots,  who  spoke  a  language  quite  different  from  any  he  had  yet 
heard.     It  was  full  of  strange  guttural  sounds,  which  Lewis  compares  to  the 
clucking  of  a  hen.     The  Indians  were  well  mounted,  but  had  very  little  food. 
As  the  season  advanced  a  fall  of  snow  added  to  the  difficulties  of  their  route 
and  increased  the  scarcity  of  game.     On  the  i6th  of  September  they  were 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  killing  one  of  their  colts  for  food,  and  they  gave 
the  place  the  name  of  Hungry  Creek. 

The  river  had  become  broader  and  they  determined  to  make  canoes  in 
which  to  descend  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  They  had  met  a  party  of 
the  Perce-nez,  or,  as  Lewis  calls  them,  the  Pierced  Nose  Indians.     Their 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  47 

chief,  who  was  styled  Twisted-Hair,  drew  a  plan  of  the  river  below  on  a 
piece  of  white  elk-skin.  From  these  people  the  half-famished  party  were  able 
to  procure  supplies  of  kamas  root,  buffalo  and  dried  salmon.  The  unaccus- 
tomed plenty  made  many  of  the  men  very  ill,  but  by  the  5th  of  October  the 
canoes  were  finished  and  they  were  able  to  proceed.  On  the  tenth  day  they 
were  told  by  an  Indian  whom  they  met  that  he  had  seen  white  men  at  the  falls 
of  the  Columbia.  They  reached  the  Snake  River,  but  were  forced  to  buy 
from  Chopunnish  or  Pierced  Nose  Indians  some  of  their  dogs  for  food.  The 
men  of  these  people  are  described  as  stout,  portly,  well-looking  men.  The 
women  are  small,  good-looking  features,  generally  handsome,  and  their  dress 
more  modest  than  any  hitherto  observed.  They  spend  their  summers  in  fish- 
ing and  collecting  roots,  the  autumn  in  hunting  roots  and  the  spring  in  trad- 
ing for  buffalo  with  the  Indians  of  the  plains.  Unlike  the  hospitable  Sho- 
shones,  they  were  selfish  and  avaricious.  As  they  proceeded  they  met  other 
Indians  who'  used  vapour  baths,  which  Lewis  describes,  and  on  the  17th  of 
October  the  explorers  arrived  at  the  confluence  of  the  Snake  or  Lewis  River 
with  the  Columbia.  Here  they  met  a  band  of  Sokulk  Indians,  the  first  of 
the  natives  who  followed  the  curious  custom  of  flattening  their  heads.  These 
people  were  very  unprepossessing  in  appearance  and  in  habits.  They  made 
their  houses  of  mats  and  rushes.  The  men  were  more  industrious  than  is 
usual  among  these  savages,  and  great  respect  was  paid  to  old  age.  On  the 
19th  of  October  Lewis  discerned  Mount  St.  Helens  and  recognized  it  by 
Vancouver's  description.  About  this  time  the  travelers  observed  a  great 
burial  vault  sixty  feet  long  by  twelve  feet  wide.  The  bodies  of  those  who 
had  recently  died  were  carefully  wrapped  in  robes  of  skin,  but  the  place  con- 
tained heaps  of  bones  of  people  who  had  died  long  ago.  The  remains  of  ani- 
mals and  various  domestic  utensils  which  had  been  left  for  the  use  of  the 
departed  spirits  were  scattered  about.  On  the  22nd  of  October  the  expedi- 
tion reached  the  mouth  of  the  Deschutes  River.  The  population  of  the  banks 
of  the  Columbia  River  must  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  have 


48  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

been  quite  numerous,  for  few  days  passed  without  meeting"  parties  of  natives 
or  passing  their  villages.     At  one  of  the  latter  Lewis  took  note  of  the  Indian 
method  of  curing"  salmon.     The  fish  were  dried  on  scaffolds,  then  pounded 
and  placed  in  baskets  made  of  grass  and  rushes.     Tliese  receptacles  were  two 
feet  long-  by  one  in  diameter.     They  were  lined  with  salmon  skin  and  pounded 
fish  pressed  so  closely  together  that  the  contents  of  each  weighed  from  ninety 
to  one  hundred  pounds.     Preserved  in  this  way,  the  salmon  remained  fresh 
for  years.     It  was  an  article  of  commerce  as  well  as  a  provision  against  future 
want,  and  the  Indians  were  very  chary  of  parting  with  it.     Ever  since  reach- 
ing the  source  of  the  Columbia  game  had  been  growing  scarcer,  but  as  the 
explorers  neared  the  falls  of  the  Columbia,  in  latitude  45°  42'  57"  the  country 
became  more  fertile  and  gfame  more  plentiful.     Here  the  Indians  built  their 
houses  of  wood.     Lewis  was  able  to  perform  the  office  of  peacemaker  near 
the  falls  between  a  tribe  of  Indians  called  the  Escheloots  and  the  tribes  above, 
with  whom  they  had  been  at  enmity.     This  was  done  through  some  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  Upper  Columbia  tribes  who  had  accompanied  the  expedition 
thus  far.     Towards  the  end  of  October  large  numbers  of  sea  otter  were  ob- 
served, though  not  many  of  them  were  killed.     Mount  Hood  was  recognized 
by  Captain  Lewis  and  it  continued  in  sight  for  many  days.     The  Indians 
below  the  falls  spoke  a  fully  different  language  from  those  above.     A  party 
met  with  on  the  28th  of  October  displayed  a  musket,  cutlasses,  several  brass 
kettles  and  other  articles  obtained  from  the  traders.     Their  chief  showed  with 
great  pride  a  medicine  bag  filled  with  fingers  of  his  enemies.     Shortly  after 
passing  the  Klikitat  River  an  island  was  seen  which  contained  an  ancient 
burial-place.     This  was  called  by  the  natives  "  The  Land  of  the  Dead."    On 
the  first  of  November  the  traveler  avoided  a  long  rapid  and  shoot  by  making 
a  portage,  and  soon  after  reached  the  tide  water  in  latitude  45°  45'  45". 
Three  days  later  an  Indian  village  containing  two  hundred  people  of  Skilkoot 
nation  was  reached.    The  houses  were  built  of  bark  and  thatched  with  straw. 
The  natives  were  impudent  and  dishonest.     They  had  had  much  intercourse 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  •  49 

with  the  white  traders.  One  of  the  canoes  met  with  in  this  vicinity  bore  on 
its  prow  a  full-sized  image  of  a  white  man  and  a  bear.  On  the  6th  of  No- 
vember it  was  observed  that  the  Coast  Mountains  crossed  the  river.  Near 
the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz  some  canoe  loads  of  Indians  were  met.  Their  leader 
could  speak  a  few  words  of  English,  and  informed  the  explorers  that  he  had 
traded  with  a  Mr.  Haley.  The  next  village  was  formed  of  houses  built  en- 
tirely above  ground  and  belonged  to  a  tribe  calling  themselves  Wakkiacum. 
The  dress  of  the  women  is  thus  described :  "  They  wore  a  robe  not  reaching 
lower  than  the  hip,  added  to  this  was  a  sort  of  petticoat  or  rather  tissue  of 
white  cedar  bark,  bruised  or  broken  into  small  strands  and  woven  into  a 
girdle  by  several  cords  of  the  same  material." 

On  the  7th  of  November  the  billows  of  the  Pacific  were  seen,  and  for 
more  than  a  week  the  boats  endeavored,  in  spite  of  rain  and  wind,  to  reach 
the  shore  of  the  ocean.  This  they  accomplished  on  the  i8th  of  November, 
when  they  passed  Cape  Disappointment.  Before  this  they  had  met  two  chiefs 
of  the  Chinook  nation,  Concommoly  and  Chillahlawil.  Having  made  their 
way  across  the  mouth  of  the  river,  they  made  acquaintance  with  the  Chilts 
and  Clatsops.  Clark  printed  in  beautiful  characters  on  a  tree  the  following 
inscription:  "William  Clark.  Dec.  3rd,  1805.  By  land  from  the  United 
States  in  1804  and  1805." 

Here  Lewis  and  Clark  resolved  to  winter,  and  proceeded  to  build  Fort 
Clatsop,  which  was  finished  on  the  30th  of  December.  The  Indians,  who 
had  become  familiar  and  intrusive,  were  now  warned  that  the  gates  of  the 
stockade  would  be  closed  at  dark,  and  that  from  that  time  till  morning  the 
white  men  wished  to  be  alone.  Here  we  will  take  our  leave  of  the  explorers, 
who  spent  the  third  winter  of  their  voluntary  exile  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
they  had  striven  so  hard  to  reach. 

This  imperfect  sketch  gives  but  little  idea  of  the  toils  and  privations  of 
the  noble  band  of  brave  men  who  first  explored  the  grand  rivers  which  water 
so  large  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.     Still  less  does  it  do 


50  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

justice  to  their  careful  observation  and  diligent  research.  When  the  journals 
of  Lewis  and  Clark  were  made  public  the  reader  learned  the  quality  of  the 
soil,  the  nature  of  the  vegetation,  the  various  kinds  of  wild  animals  and  the 
characteristics  of  the  many  tribes  of  natives  to  be  met  with  between  the  con- 
fines of  civilization  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  By  the  aid  of  the  maps  and  the 
descriptions  of  the  explorers,  the  traveler  could  identify  every  bend  in  the 
river  and  ascertain  the  position  of  every  island  and  mountain  range  along 
the  route  followed  by  them. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  51 


CHAPTER  V. 

INTERNATIONAL  QUESTIONS. 

The  Oregon  Question. 

Very  soon  after  the  return  of  Lewis  and  Clark  a  merchant  whose  name 
is  still  a  synonym  for  boundless  wealth  formed  the  Pacific  Coast  Fur  Com- 
pany to  establish  the  fur  trade  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  John  Jacob  Astor  was 
a  German  by  birth,  who  had  made  his  home  in  New  York  and  had  prospered 
greatly.  He  had  for  many  years  been  engaged  in  commerce  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  with  China,  and  in  trade  with  the  Indians  in  the  center  of  the 
American  continent.  He  now  determined  to  obtain  control  of  the  whole  fur 
trade  of  the  unsettled  parts  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  Russian  establish- 
ment in  North  America.  He  intended  to  establish  trading  posts  on  the 
Missouri,  the  Columbia  and  the  coasts  contiguous  to  that  river.  By  export- 
ing the  furs  gathered  in  America  to  China  and  exchanging  them  for  the 
products  of  the  east,  he  hoped  to  extend  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company  around  the  world.  Astor  tried  to  avoid  the  danger  of  the  competi- 
tion of  the  Northwest  Company  by  inviting  it  to  share  his  enterprise,  an  offer 
which  that  powerful  and  energetic  body  declined.  He  was,  however,  able  to 
enlist  several  individual  members  of  the  company  as  partners  and  to  engage  a 
number  of  its  old  employes.  A  ship  was  sent  out  tO'  view  the  coast  and  agents 
were  sent  to  St.  Petersburg  to  conclude  an  arrangement  with  the  Russian 
Fur  Company  by  which  that  body  would  sell  its  fur  to  the  Astor  Fur  Com- 
pany and  obtain  supplies  of  food  and  merchandise  at  the  station  to  be  estab- 
lished at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  These  preliminaries  concluded,  an 
expedition  was  sent  out  in  1810  on  board  the  good  ship  Tonquin,  Captain 


62  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Thorn  master,  to  build  the  fort  and  establish  the  fnr  trade.  It  called  at  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  for  fresh  supplies,  and  on  the  T2th  of  April,  t8ii,  beg-an  to 
build  a  fort  at  Point  Georg-e,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia,  about  twelve 
miles  from  its  mouth.  The  fort  was  called  after  the  founder  of  the  enter- 
prise. Astoria.  As  soon  as  the  work  was  well  under  way  Captain  Thorn 
departed  on  the  Tonquin  on  a  trading  cruise  to  the  west  coast  of  Vancouver 
Island.  Neither  the  ship  nor  captain  ever  returned.  The  captain  and  most 
of  the  crew  were  massacred  by  the  Indians  in  return  for  an  insult  which 
Thorn  had  put  upon  one  of  the  chiefs.  The  ship  itself  was  blown  up,  whether 
by  accident  or  desigji  could  never  be  learned.  The  survivor  of  the  crew  of 
the  Tonquin  was  an  interpreter,  who  surrendered  himself  as  a  slave  to  the 
women  who  accompanied  in  their  canoes  the  infuriated  savages.  On  the 
T5th  of  July,  before  the  fort  was  completed,  a  boat  came  down  the  Columbia 
bearing  a  party  of  the  Northwest  Company's  men  whose  leader,  David 
Thompson,  had  been  for  years  exploring  the  region  in  which  the  northern 
waters  of  the  Columbia  had  their  source,  and  who  had  hoped  to  be  the  first 
to  reach  the  Pacific  and  build  a  trading  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  which 
he  believed  himself  to  be  the  discoverer,  and  had  hoped  to  be  the  first  to  ex- 
plore. McDougall,  the  commander  of  the  Fort  Astoria,  treated  his  visitor 
with  the  greatest  courtesy,  and  after  a  few  days  Thompson  departed  for 
Montreal  accompanied  by  Stuart,  who  was  in  charge  of  an  expedition  to  build 
a  trading  post  in  the  interior.  The  place  chosen  by  Stuart  for  the  fort  was 
on  Okanagan  River;  the  Northwest  Company  had  already  reached  the  Spo- 
kane. A  few  months  later  Qarke,  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  planted  an- 
other establishment  on  the  latter  river.  On  the  i8th  of  January,  1812,  an 
overland  expedition  in  charge  of  Hunt,  chief  manager  of  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company,  arrived  at  Astoria  after  having  suffered  many  hardships  and  losses. 
When  Astor  heard  of  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin  he  sent  a  ship,  namely, 
the  Beaver,  to  Astoria  with  supplies  and  merchandise  to  trade  with  the  Rus- 
sians for  furs.     In  August  Hunt  proceeded  up  the  coast  in  the  Beaver  to 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  53 

conclude  some  arrangements  begun  in  St.  Petersburg  some  time  before  by 
which  the  Pacific  Coast  Fur  Company  would  buy  all  the  furs  of  the  Russia 
Company  and  supply  them  with  all  necessaries  for  their  trade  with  the  na- 
tives. Having  satisfactorily  fulfilled  his  mission  Hunt  sailed  for  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  but  it  was  six  months  before  he  could  find  a  vessel  to  bring  him' 
to  Astoria.  During  his  absence  the  Northwest  Company  had  established 
many  trading  ports  on  the  Upper  Columbia  and  its  branches.  The  war  of 
1812  had  broken  out  and  the  partners  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  having 
no  ship  and  small  means  of  defense  were  becoming  anxious  for  the  safety  of 
their  position.  On  the  nth  of  April,  1813,  Astoria  was  visited  by  John 
George  McTavish  and  Joseph  Leroche  with  a  large  party  of  nor'westers. 
The  Northwest  Company  wanted  to  purchase  Astoria  and  McTavish  had 
come  to  show  the  partners  there  the  danger  of  their  position,  the  unlikeli- 
hood of  their  receiving  supplies  now  that  British  cruisers  were  sailing  the 
position  and  the  wisdom  of  selling  their  post  before  it  would  be  captured. 
McDougall  and  his  associates  were  not  easily  persuaded.  At  last  they  agreed 
that  if  during  the  year  supplies  did  not  arrive  arid  if  the  war  was  not  over, 
they  would  disband  and  having  sold  the  post  at  a  good  price  hand  the  money 
over  to  Astor,  When  Hunt  returned  shortly  after  the  departure  of  Mc- 
Tavish he  was  sadly  disappointed  at  the  position  of  affairs,  but  could  propose 
no  better  plan.  In  October  of  the  same  year  McTavish  came  back,  this  time 
accompanied  by  Alexander  Stewart,  and  the  purchase  of  Astoria  was  con- 
cluded, the  price  being  $80,500.  Two  weeks  after  H.  M.  S.  Raccoon  arrived 
and  great  was  the  disappointment  of  her  officers  to  find  that  the  Northwest 
Company  by  purchasing  the  trading-post  had  deprived  them  of  a  rich  and 
easily  obtained  prize.  The  captain  changed  the  name  of  the  place  to  Fort 
George  and  took  possession  of  the  place  in  the  name  of  Great  Britain.  In 
1814  the  treaty  of  Ghent  was  signed  and  by  one  of  its  clauses  all  territory, 
places  and  possessions  taken  during  the  war,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
islands  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  were  to  be  restored.     It  was  the  9th  of  August, 


54  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

1818,  before  the  British  authorities  finally  restored  Fort  George  in  the  fol- 
lowing formula: 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  do  in  conformity  to  the  first  article  of  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  restore  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the  settlement  of 
Fort  George  on  the  Columbia  River." 

No  attempt  was  made  by  the  United  States  for  several  years  after  the 
sale  of  Astoria  to  settle  or  establish  trading  posts  in  what  came  to  be  known 
as  the  Oregon  Country.  In  18 19  Long's  expedition,  of  which  an  account 
was  published  in  1823,  ascertained  that  the  whole  division  of  North  America 
drained  by  Missouri  and  Arkansas  and  their  tributaries  between  the  meridian 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  a  desert.  The  North- 
west Company  carried  on  their  trade  from  Fort  George  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  to  Fort  St.  James  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Fraser  without  a 
rival.  By  a  convention  made  in  18 18  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  it  was  agreed  that  the  country  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
should  be  free  and  open  for  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  convention,  to  the 
vessels,  citizens,  and  subjects  of  both  powers,  without  prejudice  to  the 
claims  of  either  country.  In  the  year  1821  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
the  Northwest  Company  united  and  the  courts  of  judicature  of  Upper  Canada 
were  empowered  to  take  cognizance  of  all  causes,  civil  or  criminal,  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Territories  or  other  ports  not  within  the  limits  of  Upper 
Canada,  Lower  Canada,  or  the  United  States.  Tliis  company  received  a 
license  to  trade  in  the  regions  which  had  not  originally  formed  part  of  Ru- 
pert's land  for  a  period  not  exceeding  21  years,  and  persons  in  the  service 
might  act  as  justices  of  the  peace.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  being  now 
a  very  powerful  organization  extended  their  fur  trade  along  the  coast  to 
the  borders  of  Alaska  and  increased  and  improved  their  establishments  in 
the  interior.  Peace  and  good  order  were  the  rule  wherever  the  company's 
authority  reached.  •  The  manager  of  their  affairs  on  the  Pacific  Coast  was 
John  McLoughlin,  a  man  eminently  fitted  for  his  position.     He  moved  from 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  5§ 

Fort  George  and  built  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette.  Large  farms  were  cultivated  at  Van- 
couver and  at  other  places  in  the  Columbia  valley  and  on  Puget  Sound. 

While  the  dispute  about  the  ownership  of  the  Northwest  coast  was  aris- 
ing between  England  and  the  United  States,  a  third  claim  was  made.  The 
Russian  emperor  issued  a  ukase  claiming  the  ownership  of  the  whole  west 
coast  of  America  north  of  the  fifty-first  parallel  and  of  the  east  coast  of  Asia 
north  of  forty-five  degrees  forty-five  minutes  north  latitude  and  forbidding 
foreigners  to  come  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  coast.  Both  England  and 
the  United  States  protested  against  this  extravagant  assumption  on  the  part 
of  Russia  and  a  treaty  was  made  by  each  of  them.  That  with  the  United 
States  was  concluded  first  in  1824.  By  this  treaty  it  was  agreed  that  the 
subjects  of  both  nations  should  be  free  to  navigate  the  waters  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  or  to  resort  to  its  coasts  to  trade  with  the  natives,  though  United 
States  citizens  must  not  resort  to  any  points  where  there  is  a  Russian  estab- 
lishment nor  found  establishments  north  of  fifty-four  degrees  forty  minutes. 
The  subjects  of  either  nation  could  frequent  interior  seas,  gulfs,  harbors  ana 
creeks  for  the  purposes  of  fishing  and  trading  with  the  natives. 

An  important  provision  of  the  treaty  of  1825  made  with  Great  Britain 
provides  that :  "  the  line  of  demarcation  between  possessions  of  the  high  con- 
tracting parties  upon  the  coast  of  the  continent  and  the  islands  of  America 
to  the  northwest  shall  be  drawn  from  the  southern  most  point  of  Prince  of 
Wales  Island,  eastward  to  the  great  inlet  in  the  continent  called  Portland 
Channel  and  along  the  middle  of  that  inlet  to  the  fifty-sixth  degree  of  lati- 
tude, whence  it  shall  follow  the  summit  of  the  mountains  bordering  the  coast 
within  ten  leagues  northwestward  to  Mount  St.  Elias  and  thence  north  in  the 
course  of  the  twenty-first  meridian  from  Greenwich,  which  line  shall  form  the 
limit  between  the  Russian  and  British  possessions  in  the  continent  of  America 
to  the  Northward."     This  clause  of  the  treaty  plainly  acknowledged  the  Rus- 


66  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

sian  belief  in  the  right  of  Great  Britain  tO'  possessions  on  the  northwest  coast 
of  America. 

As  the  time  of  the  expiration  of  the  convention  of  1818  drew  near  there 
was  a  strong-  feeHng  both  in  England-  and  the  United  States  that  the  bound- 
ary between  their  possessions  should  be  determined,  and  plenipotentiaries 
were  appointed.  England  proposed  that  the  southern  boundary  of  her  pos- 
sessions should  be  the  forty-ninth  parallel  to  the  northeasternmost  branch  of 
the  Columbia  River,  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  stream  to  the  Pacific. 
The  utmost  that  the  United  States  would  concede  was  that  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  should  be  the  boundary  line  to  the  Ocean.  As  neither  side  would 
yield  on  the  sixth  of  August,  1827,  it  was  resolved  "  that  the  provisions  of 
October  20th,  18 18,  rendering  all  territories  claimed  by  Great  Britain  or  by 
the  United  States  west  of  the  Rock  Mountains  free  and  open  to  the  citizens 
or  subjects  of  both  nations  for  ten  years  should  be  extended  for  an  indefinite 
period,  and  that  either  party  could  annul  or  abrogate  the  convention  by  giv- 
ing a  year's  notice." 

So  far  the  only  settlers  in  Oregon  had  been  fur  traders,  but  from  this 
time  immigrants  from  the  United  States  began  to  arrive  in  very  small  num- 
bers at  first,  but  gradually  increasing  till  about  the  year  1842  it  was  felt  that 
joint  occupation  was  no  longer  practicable.  In  that  year  the  Northeastern 
boundary  of  the  United  States  was  fixed  by  the  Ashburton  Treaty,  but  the 
contracting  powers  did  not  consider  it  wise  to  complicate  the  situation  by 
introducing  into  the  negotiations  the  Oregon  Question. 

There  was  a  party  from  the  United  States  who  claimed  the  whole  region 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  the  forty-second  parallel  of  north  latitude 
to  that  of  fifty-four  degrees  forty  minutes,  that  is,  from  California  to  Alaska. 
Some  of  its  members  asserted  their  determination  to  take  up  arms  and  drive 
Great  Britain  from  the  Pacific  Slope.  They  rested  their  claim  on  right  de- 
rived from  the  purchase  of  Louisianan  in  1803  and  on  the  Florida  Treaty  with 
Spain  in  1819.     When  by  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  the  Independence  of  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  57 

United  States  was  acknowledg-ed  the  Mississippi  formed  its  western  borders. 
In  1803  the  young  Republic  extended  its  borders  by  the  purchase  from  France 
of  Louisiana.     Concerning   the   western  boundary   of   this   new   acquisition 
Greenhow  says :    "  In  the  absence  of  all  light  on  the  subject  from  histor)^  we 
are  forced  to  regard  the  boundaries  indicated  by  nature,  namely  the  high- 
lands separating  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  from  those  flowing  into 
the  Pacific  or  Californian  Gulf,  as  the  true  western  boundaries  of  Louisiana." 
By  the  Florida  Treaty  Spain  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  rights,  claims  and 
pretentions  to  territories  beyond  Louisiana,  which  by  the  words  of  that  Treaty 
reached  on  the  north  to  latitude  forty-two  degrees,  and  on  the  west  to  the 
Pacific   Ocean.     Spain,    these   claimants   contended,    owned   the   Northwest 
Coast  by  virture  of  discovery,  and  that  right  she  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  1819 
to  the  United  States.     The  moderate  party  claimed  the  valley  of  the  Colum- 
bia from  Gray's  discovery  in  1792,  the  exploration  of  Lewis  and  Clark  in 
1804-5,  the  settlement  of  Astoria  and  others  made  by  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany and  on  the  ground  of  contiguity  to  what  was  their  undisputed  territory. 
The  British  on  their  part  based  their  claims  on  the  discovery  of  Cook, 
the  Nootka  Convention  which  gave  them  the  right  of  settlement  in  what  had 
previously  been  claimed  as   Spanish  possessions,  the  explorations  of  Van- 
couver and  the  journeys  and  discoveries  of  Mackenzie,  Fraser  and  Thomp- 
son.    Their  strongest  argument,   however,   was  that   for  nearly  thirty-five 
years  British  subjects  had  been  the  chief  occupants  of  the  whole  region  and 
for  the  greater  part  of  that  time  no  United  States  subject  had  lived  west  of 
the  Rocky   Mountains.     Many  other  matters   were  imported   into  the  con- 
troversy between  the  nations,  which  grew  more  and  more  bitter  as  time  went 
on.     Negotiations  having  continued  through  the  years  1844  and  1845  without 
result,  and  notice  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Convention  by  the  Ignited  States 
having  been  received  in  England,  the  British  plenipotentiary  was  instructed 
to  present  to  the  United  States  government  a  new  scheme  for  the  settlement  of 
the  difiiculty.     This  was  accepted  and  became  in  1846  the  Treaty  of  Oregon. 


68  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

By  this  treaty  it  was  provided  that  the  forty-ninth  parallel  should  be  the 
boundary  between  the  United  States  and  the  British  possessions  to  the  middle 
of  the  channel  that  separates  the  continent  from  Vancouver  Island;  that  the 
navigation  of  the  Columbia  should  be  free  to  British  subjects;  that  the  pos- 
sessory rights  of  all  British  subjects  shall  be  respected  and  the  farm  lands 
and  other  property  of  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company  should  be  con- 
firmed to  it.  There  were  many  in  Canada  and  in  Great  Britain  who  viewed 
the  Oregon  treaty  as  a  weak  concession  to^  the  claims  of  the  United  States, 
while  on  the  other  hand  the  extremists  in  the  Republic  believed  that  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  promulgated  in  1818  should  have  been  followed  and  "  that 
the  American  continents  by  the  free  and  independent  condition  which  they 
have  assumed  and  maintain  are  henceforth  not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for 
colonization  by  any  European  power." 

Simon  Eraser. 

While  Lewis  and  Clark  were  making  their  way  down  the  Columbia  the 
Northwest  Company  were  preparing  to  occupy  the  Pacific  Slope.  In  1805 
Simon  Eraser  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  having  received  direc- 
tions to  follow  Mackenzie's  route,  establish  the  fur  trade  among  the  tribes 
near  the  headwaters  of  the  Peace,  and  the  yet  unnamed  river  discovered  by 
the  great  explorer,  and  to  follow,  if  possible,  that  river  to  its  mouth  and  find 
out  whether  or  not  it  was  the  Columbia.  About  the  same  time  David  Thomp- 
son received  instructions  to  find  a  pass  further  to  the  south  and  seek  in  that 
direction  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia.  As  we  have  seen  that  members 
of  the  Northwest  Company  met  Lewis  and  Clark  in  the  Mandan  country 
the  previous  year,  it  is  possible  that  news  of  the  United  States  expedition 
had  reached  the  headquarters  of  that  enterprising  body  and  stimulated  its 
efforts  to  prevent  the  trade  of  the  great  unexplored  region  to  the  west  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  shrewd  citizens  of  the  young  republic. 

The  only  explorations  of  which  we  have  any  record  during  the  twelve 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  .  59 

years  since  Mackenzie  crossed  the  Pacific  Slope  is  that  of  James  Finlay,  who 
in  1797  ascended  the  Finlay  River,  the  northern  branch  of  the  Peace  River. 
The  first  building'  erected  by  a  white  man  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
was  Fort  McLeod,  built  on  McLeod  Lake  by  James  McDougall.  No  one 
since  1793  had  ventured  to  launch  a  boat  on  the  terrible  river,  whose  dangers 
even  the  intrepid  Mackenzie  had  feared  to  brave.  The  man  to  whom  the 
arduous  task  of  exploring  it  was  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  partners  of  the 
Northwest  Company.  Simon  Fraser  was  the  son  of  a  Loyalist,  who  served 
under  Burgoyne  and  who  died  not  long  after  the  surrender  of  the  army  of 
that  ill-fated  general.  His  widow  with  her  child  removed  to  Cornwall,  Up- 
per Canada,  and  when  her  boy  was  sixteen  years  old  he  received  a  position 
in  the  Northwest  Company.  Being  hardy  and  adventurous  as  well  as  indus- 
trious the  boy  succeeded  and  by  the  time  he  was  twenty-six  years  old  had 
become  one  of  the  advance  guard  of  the  Northwest  Company.  Leaving 
Fort  Dunvegan  on  the  Peace  River  in  the  autumn  of  1805  he  made  his  way 
to  the  Rock  Mountain  portage  where  he  with  fourteen  of  his  men  spent  the 
winter.  From  Rocky  Mountain  House  he  proceeded  by  the  Peace  River  to 
the  Pacific  Slope,  finding  as  Mackenzie  had  done,  great  difficulty  in  passing 
from  the  headwaters  of  the  Parsnip  to  those  of  the  Fraser.  In  this  region 
of  lakes  and  mountains  Fraser  remained  building  forts  and  establishing  the 
fur  trade  for  more  than  two  years.  It  was  he  who,  recalling  his  mother's 
stories  of  her  childhood's  home,  first  gave  this  rugged  land  the  appropriate 
name  of  New  Caledonia.  In  a  beautiful  situation  on  Stuart  Lake  in  1806, 
Fraser  built  Fort  St.  James,  which  has  been  ever  since  the  principal  depot  of 
the  fur  trade  of  northern  British  Columbia.  The  lake  was  called  after  John 
Stuart,  a  clerk  of  the  Northwest  Company  and  Fraser's  friend  and  lieutenant. 
At  the  confluence  of  the  Fraser  and  Nechaco  the  explorers  met  a  band  of  In- 
dians to  whom  tobacco  and  soap  were  alike  unknown  luxuries.  Proceeding 
up  the  Nechaco,  Stuart  discovered  a  lake  which  from  its  position  he  consid- 
ered would  make  a  good  trading  center.     He  gave  it  the  name  of  his  leader 


60  •  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

and  Fort  Fraser  was  built  where  the  lake  falls  into  the  river.  The  following 
winter  was  passed  at  Stuart  Lake.  The  difficulty  of  obtaining  supplies  in- 
•duced  Fraser  to  send  for  more  men.  While  he  was  awaiting  their  arrival 
he  erected  Fort  George  at  the  confluence  of  the  Nechaco  and  the  Fraser. 
The  reinforcement  arrived  in  1807  in  charge  of  Hugh  Fairies  and  Maurice 
Quesnel,  bringing  rumors  of  Lewis  and  Qark  and  a  request  to  hurry  the 
expedition. 

On  the  26th  of  May  Fraser  set  out  on  his  journey  to  the  sea.  Every 
hour  of  the  long  summer  days,  during  which  the  explorers  followed  the  wind- 
ings of  the  tumultuous  river  around  towering  mountains  and  over  jagged 
rocks  which  tore  its  waters  into  foam,  was  full  of  peril.  The  coolness  with 
which  they  overcame  the  boiling  surges  of  the  river  and  crept  along  its  pre- 
cipitous banks,  often  making  a  foothold  for  themselves  with  their  daggers, 
showed  that  these  rugged  fur  traders  were  as  fearless  as  the  vikings  of  old. 
Their  canoes  were  repeatedly  broken,  often  destroyed.  At  length  the  at- 
tempt to  navigate  the  river  was  abandoned  and  the  party  toiled  over  the 
mountains  till  at  length  the  smoother  current  showed  that  they  were  nearing 
the  sea.  On  the  way  down  Fraser  had  observed  and  named  the  rivers  Quesnel 
and  Thompson,  which  contributed  their  waters  to  the  volume  of  the  river. 
Fraser  reached  the  tide  waters  of  the  Pacific  in  the  vicinity  of  the  site  of 
the  city  of  New  Westminster  on  the  second  day  of  July,  1808.  He  was  pre- 
vented from  proceeding  to  the  ocean  by  the  attacks  of  hostile  Indians,  but  he 
had  learned  that  the  river  he  had  been  exploring  was  not  the  Columbia. 

David  Thompson. 

The  leader  of  the  northern  expedition  of  the  Northwest  Company  was  a 
remarkable  man.  David  Thompson  had  in  his  youth  received  a  good  educa- 
tion, and  having  adopted  the  calling  of  a  surveyor  received  a  position  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  1795  he  found  a  route  from  Hudson's  Bay  to 
Lake  Athabasca.     On  his  return  he  learned  that  his  services  were  no  longer 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  61 

needed  and  immediately  set  out  for  the  headquarters  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany. He  was  immediately  engaged  and  on  August  9th,  1796,  began  a  series 
of  surveys  lasting  for  many  years,  during  which  he  traced  the  courses  of  the 
Saskachewan,  the  Assiniboine  and  most  of  the  rivers  between  Lake  Superior 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  visited  the  Mandan  country  and  sought  and 
thought  he  had  found  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  In  his  busy,  though 
often  lonely  life,  the  explorer  found  time  and  opportunity  to  pursue  the  study 
of  the  heavens,  and  has  been  distinguished  by  the  title  of  astronomer. 

In  1805  Thompson  was  commissioned  to  ascend  the  Saskachewan  to 
explore  the  Columbia  and  examine  the  region  between  the  mountains  and 
the  Pacific  Ocean. 

During  the  five  years  from  1806  to  181 1  Thompson  spent  most  of  his 
time  in  southeastern  British  Columbia.  He  discovered  the  source  of  the 
Columbia  and  explored  its  northern  waters.  He  followed  the  course  of  the 
Kootenay  and  finally  reaching  the  Lower  Columbia  by  way  of  the  Spokane 
and  Pend  d'Oreille  branches  rowed  down  to  its  mouth,  as  has  been  before 
related,  on  the  15th  of  July,  181 1.  He  established  the  fur  trade  at  points  as 
far  distant  as  the  Bend  of  the  Columbia,  the  Forks  of  the  Thompson  and  the 
United  States  boundary  line.  The  explorer  made  frequent  journeys  east- 
ward, and  is  said  to  have  come  through  the  wall  of  mountains  by  the  Kicking 
Horse,  the  Yellowhead,  Howe's  and  Athabasca  passes.  The  importance  of 
his  labors  can  hardly  be  overestimated  though  they  were  very  ill-requited.  It 
is  largely  due  to  the  achievement  of  these  explorers  and  pioneers  of  the  fur 
trade,  Fraser  and  Thompson,  that  Great  Britain  owns  the  magnificent  prov- 
ince of  British  Columbia. 

San  Juan. 

When  in  1846  the  Oregon  Treaty  was  signed  it  was  believed  that  the 
question  of  the  northern  limits  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  was  set- 
tled at  once  and  forever ;  yet  the  ink  was  hardly  dry  on  the  paper  when  events 


62  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

took  place  which  at  an  earlier  period  would  have  ended  in  a  fratricidal  war. 

Seven  miles  to  the  southeast  of  Victoria,  now  the  capital  of  British 
Columbia,  at  the  time  of  the  signing-  of  the  treaty  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
trading  post,  lies  the  island  of  San  Juan,  the  largest  of  the  Haro  Archipelago. 
About  the  time  of  the  founding  of  Fort  Camosun,  when  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  were  seeking  new  pastures  for  their  flocks  and  herds  at  a  distance 
from  those  of  the  settlers  in  Oregon,  they  sent  a  number  of  sheep  and  cattle  in 
charge  of  some  of  their  servants  to  the  island  of  San  Juan.  These  throve  so 
well  that  when  disputes  arose  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  place  they  had  five 
thousand  sheep  and  a  great  number  of  cattle,  pigs  and  horses.  In  185 1  W. 
J.  McDonald,  one  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  employes,  established  a 
salmon  fishery  at  San  Juan  and  warned  the  United  States  fishermen  in  the 
vicinity  that  they  must  not  fish  inshore  as  the  island  was  British  territory. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Legislature  of  Oregon  in  1852  organized  Whid- 
by  Island  and  the  Haro  Archipelago  into  a  district  called  Esland  County. 
The  next  year  Oregon  was  divided  and  the  district  placed  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Washington.  In  1854  the  collector  of  customs  for  Puget  Sound, 
I.  N.  Ebey,  came  over  to  collect  dues  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  agent 
for  pure  bred  stock  which  had  been  lately  imported.  The  customs  house 
officer  met  Charles  John  Griffen,  a  clerk  of  the  company  and  justice  of  the 
peace  for  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  who  asserted  that  San  Juan  was 
British  territory  and  that  no  duties  could  be  collected  on  behalf  of  the  United 
States.  When  Governor  Douglas  heard  of  the  matter  he  came  over  from 
Victoria  in  the  steamer  Otter,  with  Charles  Sangster,  collector  of  customs  for 
that  port.  Sangster  came  on  shore,  declared  the  island  British  territory  and 
hoisted  the  British  flag.  Ebey  unfurled  the  United  States  revenue  flag,  swore 
in  Henry  Webber  as  a  deputy  and  sailed  away.  Within  the  year,  fear  of 
the  northern  Indians  caused  Webber  to  leave  the  island.  During  this  year 
an  appraiser  was  sent  over  from  Washington  to  assess  the  property  of  San 
Juan.     As  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  refused  to  pay  the  assessment  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  63 

sheriff  of  Whatcom  arrived  and  seized  and  sold  at  auction  a  number  of  the 
company's  sheep.  The  protests  against  this  action  caused  Governor  Stephens 
to  apprise  the  executive  of  the  United  States  of  what  he  had  done.  He  was 
told  to  instruct  the  officials  of  the  territory  not  to  attempt  to  enforce  the  pay- 
ment of  any  taxes  on  the  island  of  San  Juan  as  longf  as  there  was  any  dispute 
as  to  its  ownership.  At  the  same  time  they  were  not  to  acknowledge  that 
it  was  a  British  possession.  Accordingly  assessments  continued  to  be  made 
and  imports  valued  as  before  though  the  officials  sent  to  perform  these  serv- 
ices were  frequently  obliged  to  seek  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  men 
protection  from  the  northern  Indians,  who  were  frequent  and  dangerous  visit- 
ors. Affairs  had  reached  this  point  when  in  1856  a  commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  fix  the  boundary  line  laid  down  in  the  Treaty  of  Oregon  in  1846. 
The  commissioners  were  Captain  Prevost  and  Captain  Richards  for  the  Brit- 
ish government  and  Archibald  Campbell,  with  whom  was  associated  Lieuten- 
ant Parke,  for  that  of  the  United  States.  Expeditions  were  fitted  out  by  both 
nations.  That  of  the  United  States,  the  first  to  arrive,  was  on  board  the  sur- 
veying ship  "  Active,"  and  the  brig  "'  Fauntleroy."  Captain  Prevost  came  out 
in  H.  M.  S.  "  Satellite "  in  June,  1857,  followed  some  months  later  by 
Captain  Richards  in  H.  M.  S.  "  Plumper." 

There  was  no  question  as  to  the  boundary  between  the  British  and 
United  States  possessions  until  the  sea  was  reached.  The  position  of  the 
forty-ninth  parallel  was  ascertained  and  monuments  placed  from  the  north 
shore  of  Semiahmoo  Bay  to  the  southeastern  limit  of  East  Kootenay.  But 
as  to  the  boundary  through  the  water  after  it  left  the  forty-ninth  parallel  there 
was  an  irreconcilable  difference  of  opinion  between  the  commissioners.  The 
words  of  the  Oregon  Treaty  which  refer  to  this  part  of  the  boimdary  are: 
"  From  the  point  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  where  the 
boundary  laid  down  by  existing  treaties  and  conventions  between  Great  Brit- 
ain and  the  United  States  terminates,  the  line  of  the  boundary  between  the 
territories  of  her  Britannic  Majesty  and  those  of  the  United  States  shall  be 


64  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

continued  westward  along  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the 
middle  of  the  channel  which  separates  the  continent  from  Vancouver  Island 
and  thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  said  channel,  and  of  Fuca  Strait 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  provided,  however,  that  the  navigation  of  the  said 
channel  and  straits,  south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  remain 
free  and  open  to  both  parties." 

If  there  had  been  only  one  channel  between  Vancouver  Island  and  the 
continent,  there  could  have  been  no  dispute,  as  the  words  of  the  treaty  are 
very  explicit.     But  the  water  immediately  south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel 
is  divided  by  the  Haro  Archipelago,  into  three  navigable  channels.       The 
largest  of  these,  some  seven  miles  wide,  called  the  Canal  de  Haro,  separates 
Vancouver  Island  from  the  Archipelago.     Rosario  Straits  lies  between  Wash- 
ington and  the  islands  of  Orcas  and  Lopez.     Through  which  of  these  chan- 
nels should  the  boundary  run?     The  United  States  commissioners  declared 
that  the  framers  of  the  treaty  had  in  mind  the  Canal  de  Haro,  the  widest 
channel  and  the  one  nearest  Vancouver  Island.     The  British  commissioners 
contended  quite  as  strongly  that  Rosario   Strait  fulfilled  the  conditions  of 
the  treaty  and  that  moreover  at  the  time  it  was  drawn  up,  San  Juan,  the  larg- 
est of  the  islands,  belonged  to  Vancouver  Island,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
having  occupied  it  since  1843.    I"  August,  1859,  Lord  John  Russell,  head  of 
the  foreign  office,  in  a  dispatch  to  Lord  Lyons,  the  British  minister  at  Wash- 
ington,  proposed  that   rather  than   continue  the   irritating  controversy  the 
middle  channel  should  be  adopted  as  the  one  through  the  middle  of  which  the 
boundary  line  should  pass.     This  would  give  all  the  islands  except  San  Juan 
to  the  United  States.     The  compromise  was  not  accepted  and  when,  having 
thoroughly  surveyed  the  three  channels  the  commission  found  that  they  could 
come  to  no  agreement,  the  matter  was  in  1867,  ten  years  after  they  had  begun 
their  labors,  referred  to  their  respective  governments. 

While  surveyors  and  diplomatists  were  striving  to  arrive  at  a  peaceful 
solution  of  the  boundary  question  a  trivial  incident  rendered  its  settlement 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  65 

still  more  difficult.  A  United  States  settler  named  Lyman  A.  Cutler,  had 
gone  in  April,  1859,  to  live  on  San  Juan  Island,  and  planted  a  patch  of  po- 
tatoes near  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  establishment.  One  of  the  Com- 
pany's hogs  on  the  15th  of  June  had  rooted  up  some  of  Cutler's  potatoes  and 
was  shot  by  the  angry  farmer.  The  manager  of  the  Company's  farm  de- 
manded a  high  price  for  the  animal,  which  Cutler  refused  to  pay.  During 
the  day  it  happened  that  three  of  the  leading  men  of  the  company,  Dallas, 
Tolmie  and  Fraser,  came  over  to  San  Juan  on  the  steamer  "  Beaver."  Dallas 
on  hearing  of  the  occurrence  insisted  on  the  payment  demanded  and  warned 
Cutler  against  any  further  injury  to  the  company's  property.  High  words 
and  even  threats  were  said  to  have  passed  between  the  two  men. 

General  Harney  was  at  that  time  commander  of  the  military  department 
of  Oregon.  The  American  settlers,  of  whom  there  were  about  thirty,  had  in 
May  asked  the  general  to  send  them  a  guard  of  twenty  soldiers  to  protect 
them  from,  the  northern  Indians.  He  did  not  comply  with  their  request  at 
the  time,  but  on  the  9th  of  July  he  visited  the  island.  He  was  presented  by 
Cutler  and  other  settlers  from  the  United  States  with  a  second  i>etition  ask- 
ing for  protection,  not  only  from  the  Indians,  but  from  the  authorities  on  Van- 
couver Island,  who  they  stated  had  threatened  Cutler's  arrest.  General  Har- 
ney W'ithout  communicating  with  his  superior  officer  or  with  the  authorities 
at  Washington,  issued  an  order  to  Captain  Pickett  to  transfer  his  company 
from  Fort  Bellingham  to  San  Juan  Island.  On  the  day  of  the  arrival  of 
Pickett's  deatchment  (July  27th),  Major  de  Courcy  came  over  from  Victoria 
on  H.  M.  S.  "Satellite  "  to  fill  under  British  law  the  office  of  Stipendiary 
Magistrate  on  the  Island  of  San  Juan. 

Captain  Pickett  proceeded  to  establish  a  military  camp,  and  on  the  31st 
was  reinforced  by  another  company  under  Colonel  Casey  from  Steilacoom. 
There  were  then  stationed  at  the  island  461  United  States  soldiers,  with  eight 
32  pounders. 

It  was  September  before  the  British  minister  in  Washington  learned  that 


66  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  disputed  territory  had  been  occupied  by  United  States  soldiers.  The  am- 
bassador represented  the  matter  to  the  president  as  Hkely  to  occasion  a  grave 
breach  of  the  friendly  relations  between  the  two  governments.  The  executive 
of  the  United  States  immediately  sent  General  Scott  to  inquire  into  the  cause 
of  General  Harney's  action,  and  to  make  such  arrangements  as  would  tend 
to  preserve  peace  between  England  and  the  United  States.  On  his  arrival  at 
the  Pacific  Coast  General  Scott  ordered  the  removal  of  all  the  cannon  from 
San  Juan  and  left  but  one  company  of  soldiers  there.  As  Pickett  had  ren- 
dered himself  objectionable  to  the  British  residents  of  the  island  an  officer 
named  Hunt  was  put  in  his  place.  He  urged  upon  Governor  Douglas  the  ad- 
visability of  sending  an  equal  force  to  occupy  the  island  on  behalf  of  Great 
Britain.  After  some  delay  this  plan  was  agreed  to  and  on  the  20th  of  March, 
t86o,  a  detachment  of  Marines  under  Captain  George  Bazalgette  was  sent  to 
San  Juan.  This  joint  occupation  continued  for  twelve  years.  The  greatest 
harmony  and  good  feeling  prevailed  between  the  military  men  stationed  at 
San  Juan  and  many  pleasant  social  gatherings  attended  by  the  young  people  of 
Victoria  and  Esquimalt,  took  place  on  the  island.  That  no  collision  took 
place  while  General  Harney  was  placing  the  troops  on  San  Juan  was  entirely 
owing  to  the  wise  forbearance  of  General  Baynes,  who  would  allow  neither 
the  provocation  of  his  enemies  nor  the  rashness  of  his  friends  to  hurry  into  ill- 
considered  action.  This  was  the  more  to  be  commended  as  he  had,  by  the 
admission  of  the  American  officers,  a  force  amply  sufficient  to  prevent  the 
landing  of  the  troops  or  to  effect  their  capture  afterwards. 

The  San  Juan  difficulty  still  remained  unsettled  when  in  1871  the  Joint 
High  Commission  met  at  Washington.  By  one  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
then  drawn  up  it  was  decreed  that  the  matter  of  the  disputed  boundary  should 
be  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Emperor  William  of  Germany,  whose 
decision  would  be  final.  George  Bancroft  the  American  minister  to  Germany 
was  appointed  to  prepare  the  case  of  the  United  States,  while  Mr.  Petre  the 
British  charge  d'affaires  conducted  that  of  Great  Britain.     The  award  was 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  67 

made  in  favor  of  the  contention  of  the  United  States  on  October  loth,  1872. 
By  this  time  British  Columbia  had  become  a  province  of  Canada,  w^hose 
southern  Hmit  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Pacific  was  not  completely  de- 
fined. 

The  Alaskan  Boundary. 

To  the  modern  tourist  the  name  of  Alaska  suggests  a  scene  of  rugged 
grandeur  whose  chief  features  are  high  rocky  islands,  deep  fiords  and  mighty 
mountains,  whose  immense  glaciers  glisten  in  the  sunlight.  The  sea  sheltered 
by  rocks  on  either  hand  is  peaceful  and  the  only  dangers  to  be  feared  are  the 
sunken  rock  or  the  hidden  iceberg.  As  he  floats  along  during  the  endless 
midsummer  days  it  requires  an  effort  to  remember  that  the  ownership  of  these 
picturesque  fiords  and  barren  shores  has  been  a  subject  of  grave  dispute  be- 
tween two  powerful  nations.  Yet  a  great  deal  of  time  and  thought  has  been 
spent  by  some  of  the  wisest  men  in  England  and  the  United  States  and  much 
money  has  been  expended  in  the  effort  to  settle  the  Alaskan  Boundary  Ques- 
tion. All  that  can  be  done  here  is  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  the 
dispute  and  of  the  terms  of  settlement. 

The  peninsula  of  Alaska  was  discovered  in  the  year  1741  by  Behring  on 
his  third  voyage.  Its  shores  were  soon  frequented  by  Russian  fur  traders,  and 
in  1 789  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company  was  formed,  and  given  exclusive 
privileges  of  trade  in  the  whole  of  Alaska,  which  seems  at  that  time  to  have 
been  undefined  territory.  When  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century  British  explorers  found  their  way  either 
by  land  or  sea  to  the  territory  to  the  south  and  east  of  her  possessions,  Rus- 
sia does  not  seem  to  have  concerned  herself  much  about  their  doings.  It  was 
another  matter  when  fur  traders  began  to  occupy  the  country  and  to  deplete 
the  waters  of  the  sea-otter  and  seal  and  the  land  of  beaver,  marten  and  other 
fur-bearing  animals.  The  Russian  monopolists  viewed  with  great  disfavor 
the  neighborhood  of  the  British  monopolists.  In  182 1,  the  year  when  the 
great  fur  companies  united,  the  Russian  emperor  issued  a  ukase,  claiming  the 


68  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

whole  west  of  America  north  of  the  fifty-first  parallel  of  north  latitude  and 
forbidding*  the  subjects  of  any  foreign  nation  to  approach  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  the  coast.  England  hastened  to  protest  against  the  extravagant 
claims,  and  in  1825  a  treaty  was  made  defining  the  boundary  between  the 
respective  possessions  of  England  and  Russia  in  America. 

The  Peninsula  of  Alaska  was  divided  from'  the  British  possessions  to 
the  east  of  it  by  the  one  hundred  and  forty-first  degree  of  longitude,  about 
which  no  dispute  could  arise.  Russia,  however,  claimed  a  strip  of  seacoast 
reaching  as  far  south  as  latitude  fifty-four  degrees  forty  minutes.  Though  the 
coast  had  been  explored  by  Vancouver  the  land  was  untrodden  by  the  foot 
of  civilized  man.  It  was  traversed  by  mountains,  crossed  by  rivers,  and  in- 
dented by  many  arms  of  the  sea.  An  archipelago  of  islands  stretched  along 
its  coast.  The  definition  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  this  part  of  Alaska  was 
laid  down  very  elaborately  by  the  negotiations.  It  was  more  than  half  a 
century  before  there  was  any  necessity  for  ascertaining  where  this  boundary 
lay  and  then  many  difficulties  presented  themselves  as  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  treaty.  There  was  also  a  clause  which  gave  British  subjects  "  the  right 
of  navigating  freely  and  without  any  hindrance  whatever,  all  the  rivers  and 
streams  which  may  cross  the  line  of  demarcation  upon  the  line  of  coast  de- 
scribed in  article  III  of  the  present  Convention." 

While  the  Russians  held  Alaska  no  dispute  arose  with  regard  to  the  pro- 
visions of  the  treaty.  Between  the  years  1839  and  1849  ^he  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  leased  the  Russian  territory  between  latitudes  fifty-four  degrees 
forty  minutes  and  58  degrees  North. 

In  1867  the  United  States  purchased  Alaska  from  Russia  in  the  same 
year  the  Dominion  of  Canada  was  formed.  When  in  1871  British  Columbia 
entered  into  confederation  Alaska  and  Canada  became  adjoining  territories. 
In  that  year  the  treaty  of  Washington  was  signed  and  it  contained  a  clause 
Avhich  was  interpreted  to  mean  that  England  gave  up  the  right  of  her  subject 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  69 

to  navigate  the  rivers  and  streams  of  Alaska  for  any  purpose  save  that  of 
commerce. 

Gold  was  discovered  in  the  Cassiar  District  of  British  Columbia  in  1872. 
Tlie  nearest  route  into  the  country  was  by  the  Stikine  River,  which  was  de- 
clared to  run  through  the  United  States  territory ;  this  caused  an  agitation 
for  a  definition  of  the  boundary  and  surv^eyors  went  into  the  country  to  try 
to  locate  it,  but  little  was  done  till  in  1896  the  great  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
Klondike,  a  tributary  of  the  Yukon  situated  in  the  northwest  of  Canada, 
showed  still  more  plainly  the  dangers  and  inconveniences  that  might  arise 
from  an  uncertain  boundary.  From  every  quarter  men  rushed  to  the  gold- 
fields  carrying  with  them  valuable  outfits.  The  most  direct  entrance  was  by 
Lynn  Canal  in  Alaska.  The- United  States  town  of  Skagway  was  on  this 
canal,  and  Canada  claimed,  but  was  refused  the  right  to  build  one  near  it. 
A  provisional  boundary  was  perforce  agreed  upon  at  this  place. 

The  Alaskan  Boundary  controversy  must  be  allowed  to  exist  no  longer. 
All  the  points  in  dispute  resolved  themselves  into  one.  To  whom  did  the 
inlets  belong?  The  treaty  declared  that  the  width  of  the  Russian,  now  the 
United  States  possessions  should  be  ten  marine  leagues  measured  by  a  line 
drawn  "  parallel  to  the  windings  of  the  coast."  Canada  contended  that  the 
"  coast  "  meant  the  shores  of  the  Archipelago  while  the  United  States  main- 
tained that  the  ten  marine  leagues  were  to  be  measured  from  the  continental 
coast-line.  The  wheels  of  diplomacy  were  at  last  set  in  motion  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1903,  a  commission  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Lord  Alverston,  Chief 
Justice  of  England,  Sir  Louis  Jette,  a  retired  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Canada,  and  A.  B.  Aylesworth,  a  Canadian  lawyer,  representing  British 
interests,  and  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  War,  Henry  C.  Lodge,  Senator  of 
Massachusetts,  and  George  Turner,  formerly  Senator  from,  Washington,  on 
behalf  of  the  United  States.  It  was  agreed  that  the  decision  of  a  majority  of 
the  commission  should  be  binding  on  both  nations.  After  many  months'  de- 
liberation the  award  was  given  in  October  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  the  Cana- 


70  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

dian  commissioners,  who  refused  to  sign  it.  By  the  verdict  of  the  commis- 
sion the  United  States  retained  possession  of  the  inlets  of  Alaska.  At  the 
mouth  of  Portland  Channel,  the  beginning  of  the  boundary,  are  four  islands. 
Two  of  these,  Pearse  and  Wales  Islands,  were  awarded  to  Canada,  while  the 
United  States  received  Sitklan  and  Kamaghmnut. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  71 


CHAPTER  VL 
FUR  TRADERS  AND  GOLD  SEEKERS. 

In  these  old  days  before  the  gold  rush,  the  history  of  the  Northwest  coast 
of  America  concerns  itself  solely  with  the  trade  in  peltries,  the  "  Company  of 
Adeventurers  and  Traders  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,"  and  the  native  tribes 
with  whom  they  traded  are  the  only  two  classes  thrown  on  the  canvas. 

The  year  1843  is  a  turning  point.  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  Columbia  is 
near  its  end,  the  glory  of  the  great  McLx}ughlin  is  becoming  dimmed,  a  new 
strong  man  holds  the  reins  of  power,  a  new  city  is  building  "  Where  East  is 
West  and  West  is  East  beside  our  land-locked  blue."  It  is  the  parting  of  the 
ways. 

There  were  sound  reasons  for  placing  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Fort, 
the  nucleus  of  the  city  of  Victoria,  where  it  was  placed.  The  American 
claims  tO'  the  possession  of  the  "  Oregon  country,"  the  first  low  threats  of 
"  fifty-four  forty  or  fight  "  showed  the  wisdom  of  a  stronghold  north  of  the 
settlements  on  the  Columbia,  and  in  the  sheltered  harbors  of  Victoria  and 
Esquimalt  the  fortbuilders  fondly  saw  the  outfitting  base  for  the  growing 
whale  fleet  of  the  Pacific. 

The  site  was  not  chosen  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment.  As  far  back  as 
1837  Captain  McNeill  explored  the  south  of  Vancouver  Island  and  found 
"  an  excellent  harbor  and  a  fine  open  country  along  the  sea  shore  apparently 
well  adapted  for  both  tillage  and  pasturage."  Governor  Simpson,  going  north 
from  Fort  Vancouver  in  the  "  Beaver  "  in  1841,  remarks  "  the  southern  end  of 
Vancouver  Island  is  well  adapted  for  cultivation,  for,  in  addition  to  a  moder- 
ate climate,  it  possesses  excellent  harbors  and  abundance  of  timber.  It  will 
doubtless  become  in  time  the  most  valuable  section  of  the  whole  coast  above 


72  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

California."  Simpson's  word  carried  great  weight.  For  thirty-seven  years 
he  was  the  chief  officer  in  America  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  from  east- 
ern Canada  to  the  Red  River  country  he  wandered  and  from  Oregon  to 
Alaska,  and  through  this  vast  commercial  empire  his  rule  was  unquestioned 
and  his  word  was  law.  When,  then,  Simpson  in  person  before  the  London 
directors  advised  a  complete  change  of  base  from  the  Columbia,  and  suggested 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Victoria  as  the  location  of  the  strong  fort,  the 
new  regime  may  be  said  to  have  already  begun.  What  were  the  advantages 
of  Camosun  (the  Indian  name  of  Victoria  Harbor)  ?  It  was  near  the  Ocean 
and  yet  protected  from  it.  Great  islands  were  north  of  it,  and  to  a  huge  con- 
tinent it  was  nature's  entrepot.  It  stood  at  the  crossway  of  the  waters,  Fuca 
Strait,  Puget  Sound,  the  Gulf  of  Georgia;  and  as  whaling  operations  set 
northward  might  not  a  northern  rendezvous  and  trading  base  be  welcomed? 
The  whole  life  and  training  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  servants  made  for  keen  ob- 

4 

servation,  deep  cogitation  and  careful  balancing  of  cause  and  effect.  Who 
shall  say  how  far  an  insight  into  empire  expansion  was  theirs,  and  to  what 
extent  they  foresaw  trade  with  the  Alaskan  north,  the  Mexican  south,  the 
near-by  Orient  and  the  far  off  isles  of  the  sea  ?  The  long-headed,  keen-witted, 
silent  Scots  immediately  connected  with  this  movement  were  John  McLough- 
lin,  James  Douglas,  John  Wark,  Roderick  Finlayson,  Tolmie,  Anderson  and 
McNeill,  all  graduates  of  that  stern  Alma  Mater  the  "  Company  of  Adven- 
turers and  Traders  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,"  British  North  America's 
University  of  integrity  and  self-reliance  and  self-restraint. 

Shakespeare  makes  Coriolanus  say,  "  What  is  the  city  but  the  people  ? 
True,  the  people  are  the  city."  Let  us  for  a  moment  look  into  the  training 
through  which  they  passed,  these  rugged  men  whom  fate  ordained  to  be  found- 
ers of  "  a  greater  empire  than  has  been."  London  was  the  headquarters  of 
tlie  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  here  sat  the  Home  Governor  and  Board  of  Direct- 
ors. Next  came  the  Governor  in  America,  Sir  George  Simpson.  Under  him 
served  the  Chief  Factors,  next  came  the  Chief  Traders,  usually  in  charge  of 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  73 

some  single  but  important  post ;  fourth,  were  the  Chief  Clerks,  who  went  with 
crews  of  voyageurs  on  frequent  expeditions  or  held  charge  of  minor  posts; 
and,  fifth,  followed  the  apprenticed  clerks,  a  kind  of  forest  midshipmen,  un- 
licked  cubs  fresh  from  school  or  home — ^attracted  to  the  woods  by  an  outdoor 
love  of  freedom  and  thirsty  for  Indian  adventures,  whose  duties  were  to  write, 
keep  store,  and  respectfully  wait  upon  their  seniors;  sixth,  postmasters; 
seventh,  interpreters,  advanced  from  the  ranks  of  the  hewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  of  water  because  of  some  lucky  gift  of  the  gab  or  predilection  for 
palaver;  eighth,  voyageurs;  ninth,  the  great  rank  and  file  of  laborers  who 
chopped  and  carried  and  mended,  trapped,  fished,  and  with  ready  adaptability 
turned  their  hands  to  fifty  different  crafts  at  the  sovereign  will  of  their  su- 
perior officers.  The  laborer  might  advance  to  be  postmaster,  the  "  middy  " 
might  become  chief  factor  or  governor.  Five  years  the  apprentice  served  be- 
fore he  became  clerk,  a  decade  or  two  might  see  him  chief  trader  or  half 
shareholder,  and  a  year  or  two  more  crowned  his  faithful  life  service  by  eleva- 
tion to  the  chief  factorship.  Broadly  speaking,  the  chief  factor  looked  after 
the  outside  relations  of  the  company  and  the  chief  trader  superintended  traffic 
with  the  Indians.  "  Hard  her  service,  poor  her  payment,"  Kipling  sings  of 
the  East  India  Company,  the  sister  company  of  commerce,  which  did  for' the 
empire  in  the  east  what  this  did  in  the  west.  No  doubt  the  life  of  the  servant 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  hard,  but  it  had  its  compensations,  it  de- 
veloped self-reliance  and  the  hardier  virtues  of  truth  and  courage  and  integ- 
rity ;  here,  if  anywhere,  a  man  stood  on  his  own  bottom  and  rose  or  fell  by  his 
own  acts;  each  man  in  charge  of  a  post,  be  it  ever  so  obscure  and  unimpor- 
tant, to  his  little  coterie  of  employes  and  the  constituency  of  Indians  with 
whom  he  traded,  was  a  master,  a  governor,  a  ruler,  his  aye  had  to  be  aye,  and 
his  nay,  nay  for  evermore,  or  his  life  would  pay  the  foirfeit,  it  was  no  place 
for  weaklings.  That  was  the  charm  of  the  life,  the  lust  for  power  is  stronger 
than  the  lust  for  gold.  The  one  great  drawback  to  the  career,  of  course,  was 
it  loneliness.     The  young  trader  or  factor  had  neither  time  nor  money  to  go 


74  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

back  to  civilization  to  seek  a  wife,  his  choice  lay  between  single  blessedness 
and  a  dusky  bride.  Generally  he  chose  the  latter.  The  year  before  the  build- 
ing of  Fort  Victoria,  Governor  Simpson  tells  that  in  calling  in  at  Stickine 
fifteen  of  the  employes  there  had  asked  his  permission  to  take  native  wives. 
Simpson  granted  them  leave  to  accept  what  he  is  pleased  disdainfully  to  call 
them  "  worthless  bargains,"  being  influenced  perhaps  more  by  the  trade  ad- 
vantages of  these  tribal  connections  than  by  any  sympathy  with  unmarried 
loneliness. 

In  secret  justice  to  the  "  worthless  bargains  "  it  should  be  said  that  they 
almost  invariably  proved  true,  industrious,  faithful  spouses  and  loving  moth- 
ers, they  were  subservient  to  their  lords,  they  were  content  to  remain  obedient 
hand-maidens,  and  were  imbued  with  no  troublesome  yearnings  for  the  fran- 
chise and  equal  rights.  Probably  at  times  clouds  connubial  covered  the 
horizon  here  as  elsewhere,  but  it  was  not  the  warring  of  the  New  Woman 

and  the  Old  Adam. 

The  Beaver. 

It  was  the  steamer  "  Beaver  "  that  bix)ught  Douglas  and  his  fifteen  men 
from  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  Columbia  that  early  March  day  of  1843  to  Cam- 
osufi  harbor. 

The  "  Beaver  "  as  a  history  maker  deserves  more  than  passing  notice. 
She  was  the  first  steamer  to  ply  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  and  the  first  to  make 
the  voyage  from  Europe  westward  across  the  Atlantic.  If  we  wish  to  attend 
the  birthday  christening  party  of  the  little  "  Beaver  "  we  must  go  back  to 
1835,  i'^  the  days  of  William  IV,  the  Sailor  King.  No  expense  was  spared 
in  her  construction,  these  were  the  palmy  days  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
and  well  did  the  old  "  Beaver  "  repay  her  owners  for  the  good  workmanship 
put  into  her  construction.  For  over  fifty  years  in  another  hemisphere  and  a 
new  ocean  was  she  to  do  brave  pioneer  service,  piling  up  an  honorable  record 
of  work  done  squarely  and  unwasted  days.  At  her  launching  the  king  at- 
tended in  person  and  it  was  the  hand  of  a  Duchess  that  broke  the  christening 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  75 

bottle.  Her  engines  were  made  by  the  first  firm  in  the  world  to  make  ship's 
boilers,  Messrs.  Boulton  &  Watt,  her  length  over  all  being  loi  1-3  feet.  The 
company  built  an  escort  to  the  "  Beaver,"  a  barque  of  three  hundred  and  ten 
tons  burden,  the  "  Columbia,"  and  on  the  29th  of  August,  1835,  the  two 
pioneers  stole  down  the  Thames  mouth.  The  trans- Atlantic  voyage  was  made 
without  incident,  and  Cape  Horn  passed.  Then  for  nearly  four  months,  with 
her  prow  turned  northward,  did  the  plucky  little  black  steamer  ply  the  waters 
of  an  untried  ocean.  She  was  little  and  unpretentious  and  homely,  but  she 
was  "  the  first  that  ever  burst  into  that  silent  sea."  Hencefr^rth  the  history 
of  the  "  Beaver  "  is  the  history  of  the  colonization  of  northwest  America.  She 
poked  her  inquisitive  nose  into  river  estuaries  and  land  locked  seas ;  she  made 
frequent  trips  as  far  north  as  Russian  Sitka,  and  it  was  in  her  furnace  that 
the  first  bituminous  coal  discovered  on  the  coast  was  tested. 

We  have  seen  that  the  "  Beaver  "  brought  to  Camosun  the  founders  of 
Victoria;  in  1858-9  the  "Beaver"  carried  the  Cariboo  miners  to  the  new 
found  Fraser  fields ;  next  year  she  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  "  San  Juan 
affair;"  she  carried  up  and  down  the  coast  the  imperial  hydrographers  who 
prepared  the  first  charts  of  these  northern  waters,  and  she  died  in  harness. 

It  was  on  a  summer  night  of  1888  that  the  little  steamer  piled  up  on  the 
rocks  at  the  harbor  entrance  to  Vancouver  City.  For  four  years  she  hung 
there  and  none  so  poor  to  do  her  reverence.  Then  a  passing  steamer  came 
close  in  one  night  and  gave  her  her  wash,  the  "  Beaver  "  shuddered  through 
all  her  oaken  ribs,  "  they  broke  her  mighty  heart,"  and  the  great  Boulton-built 
boilers  slipped  down  into  the  sea.  Then  came  the  relic-hunter;  her  stern- 
board  is  preserved  in  the  Provincial  Museum,  it  was  the  end  of  her  long  life 
and  an  honorable  one. 

No  excuse  is  offered  for  this  brief  history  of  the  "  Beaver" — it  is  very 
pertinent  to  our  subject;  northward  and  westward — ^seaward,  did  Victoria  look 
for  her  maritime  commerce,  northward  and  westward  do  we  still  look. 

From  the  Songhees  village  across  the  harbor  did  the  curious  and  angry 


76  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Indians  paddle  out  to  inspect  the  "  Beaver  "  that  March  day  of  1843.  What 
might  it  mean,  this  "big  canoe,  that  smokes  and  thunders?"  And  James 
Douglas  and  his  men,  with  what  feehngs  did  these  pioneers  of  long  ago  look 
around  them  as  they  stood  among  the  wild  lilies  and  heard  the  larks  sing  of 
spring?  An  empire's  history  is  making  that  day,  and  this  little  group  of 
fifteen  men  are  about  to  begin  a  chapter.  To  this  end  they  employ  no  cunning 
colors  of  the  cloister,  hewn  logs  and  cedar  posts  are  their  writing  tools,  and 
although  the  scene  be  beautiful  and  enticing,  and  the  thought  that  till  now  no 
European  foot  had  trod  these  park-like  vistas  is  even  to  prosaic  minds  a  fas- 
cination— still  they  came  for  work  these  fort-builders  and  not  for  moralizing. 
The  practiced  eye  of  Douglas  soon  determined  upon  a  site  and  all  hands  were 
at  work  digging  a  well  and  cutting  and  squaring  timber.  The  appre- 
hensive and  somewhat  sulky  Indians  gathered  round  not  too  well  pleased  with 
the  advent  of  the  '*  King  George's  men."  Douglas  in  a  characteristic  speech 
told  them  that  the  whites  came  as  traders  and  friends,  they  wanted  furs  and 
would  give  guns  and  blankets  and  trinkets,  in  the  meantime  as  a  "  trial  order  " 
the  Indians  might  bring  in  cedar  "  pickets  "  twenty-two  feet  long  and  three 
feet  in  circumference,  for  every  forty  pickets  a  blanket  would  be  given. 
"  Nowitka,  delate  bias  kloosh !"  and  the  trade  of  Camosun  is  begun. 

According  to  Bancroft,  with  the  fort-builders  came  a  Jesuit  missionary, 
one  J.  B.  Z.  Bolduc,  the  first  priest  to  set  foot  on  the  island  of  Vancouver. 
He  was  as  warmly  received  as  the  traders  were.  Up  the  extension  of  the  har- 
bor he  reared  his  rural  chapel  of  pine  branches,  and  boat's  canvas  and  cele- 
brated mass,  upwards  of  twelve  hundred  converts  crowning  his  zealous  ef- 
forts, native  Songhees  and  visiting  brethren  of  the  Clallams  and  Cowichans. 
If  this  be  true  then  Father  Bolduc's  was  not  only  the  first,  but  the  largest 
congregation  yet  assembled  on  Vancouver  Island. 

Everything  thus  auspiciously  begun,  Mr.  Douglas  left  the  men  to  carry 
forward  the  work  of  fort-building,  and  himself  proceeded  northward  in  the 
"  Beaver  "  to  close  Forts  Tako,  Stickine  and  McLoughlin,  leaving  Fort  Simp- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  77 

son  intact,  then  as  now  the  northern  outpost.  On  the  first  of  June  the  return 
party  of  thirty-five  with  the  goods  from  the  abandoned  forts  arrived  at  Cam- 
osun,  thus  bring-ingf  the  force  for  the  new  stiX)nghold  up  to  fifty  men.  Three 
months  later  the  construction  was  completed. 

James  Deans  describes  the  fort  as  he  saw  it  two  years  later.  "  The  bas- 
tions were  of  hewn  logs  thirty  feet  in  height  and  were  connected  by  palisades 
about  twenty  feet  high.  Within  the  palisades  were  the  stores  numbered  from 
one  to  five  and  a  blacksmith's  shop,  besides  dining  hall,  cook-house  and  chapel. 
The  ground  to  the  extent  of  an  acre  was  enclosed  by  a  palisade  forming  a 
square.  On  the  north  and  south  were  towers,  each  containing  six  or  eight 
pieces  of  ordinance  (nine-pounders).  The  north  tower  was  a  prison,  the 
south  one  was  used  for  firing  salutes.  On  the  right,  entering  by  the  front  or 
south  gate  was  a  cottage  in  which  was  the  postofifice,  kept  by  an  officer  of 
the  company,  Captain  Sangster.  Following  round  the  south  side  came  the 
smithy,  the  fish-oil  warehouse,  the  carpenter's  shop,  bunkhouse,  and  in  the 
corner  a  barracks  for  new  arrivals.  Between  this  corner  and  the  east  gate 
were  the  chapel  and  the  chaplain's  house.  On  the  other  side  of  the  east  gate 
was  a  large  building,  the  officers'  dining  room,  and  adjoining  this  the  cook 
house  and  pantry.  On  the  next  side  was  a  double  row  of  buildings  for  stor- 
ing furs  previous  to  shipment  to  England,  and  behind  this  again  a  gunpowder 
magazine.  On  the  lower  corner  stood  the  cottage  of  Finlayson,  who  was  the 
Chief  Factor,  and  his  family,  and  beyond  were  the  flagstaff  and  belfry." 

Finlayson  had  been  the  pupil  of  Douglas,  as  Douglas  had  been  the  pupil 
of  McLx)ughlin.  "  Much  from  little  "  was  the  motto  of  these  frugal  Scots, 
Nails,  like  everything  metallic,  were  legal  tender  with  the  Indians,  they  had  a 
distinct  commercial  value,  so  when  Finlayson  was  ordered  to  build  Fort 
Camosun  without  a  single  nail,  he  did  it.  Mr.  Finlayson  was  not  the  first 
factor  in  charge  of  the  new  post.  Mr.  Charles  Ross,  transferred  from  the 
abandoned  Fort  McLoughlin,  was  the  first  in  command.  Mr.  Ross  died  with- 
in the  fort  gates  the  following  year  (1844),  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Fin- 


78  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

layson.  The  historian  owes  a  deep  debt  to  Mr.  Roderick  Finlayson.  In  a 
carefully  written  manuscript  of  one  hundred  and  four  folio  pages  he  gives  a 
clear  and  comprehensive  account  of  the  "  History  of  Vancouver  Island  and  the 
Northwest  Q)ast,"  indeed,  were  it  not  for  Finlay son's  record  little  would  be 
known  of  these  ante-gold  days.  This  pioneer  pilot  of  the  destinies  of  Cam- 
osun  was  a  shrewd,  practical,  clear-headed  Scot,  somewhat  reticent  about  the 
company's  business,  but  personally  courteous,  kindly,  and  most  approachable. 

The  Dividing  Line. 

Up  to  this  time  (1845),  the  somewhat  indefinite  territory  loosely  known 
as  "  the  Oregon  country  "  had  been  jointly  occupied  by  British  subjects  and 
those  of  the  United  States.  It  had  not  been  in  the  interest  of  the  fur  traders  to 
encourage  immigration.  But  the  time  had  come  when  this  rich  country  could 
no  longer  be  kept  as  a  game  preserve,  settlers  from  both  nations  were  pouring 
in  and  the  question  became  insistent,  "  Who  shall  possess  the  land?"' 

Notwithstanding  contentions  to  the  contrary,  Great  Britain  is  not  and 
never  has  been  a  land  grabber,  she  has  none  of  the  hunger  for  territory  which 
the  nations  attribute  to  her,  and  for  every  square  mile  of  land  she  has  consented 
to  annex  there  are  a  thousand  she  might  have  had.  When  it  is  a  question  of 
acquiring  territory,  she  is  always  slow  to  move.  "  Is  the  country  worth  hav- 
ing? "  asked  the  English  members  of  Parliament;  "  Is  it  worth  fighting  for?  " 
McLoughlin  when  closely  questioned  to  this  end  answered  flatly  that  it  was 
not.  McLoughlin  was  a  fur  trader  first,  last  and  for  all  time;  in  the  very  na- 
ture of  things  he  could  not  see  singly  in  this  matter.  At  last  England  took 
tardy  action  and  in  1845  sent  out  H.  M.  S.  "America,"  Gordon  in  command, 
to  spy  out  the  leanness  of  this  indeterminate  land.  Gordon  was  brother  of  the 
Earl  of  Aberdeen,  England's  Prime  Minister,  and  under  him  served  Captain 
Parke,  of  the  marines,  and  Lieutenant  Peel,  son  of  Sir  Robert.  Guiltless  of 
any  knowledge  of  either  of  the  harbors  of  Victoria  or  Esquimalt,  Gordon  put 
in  to  Port  Discovery  and  sent  a  dispatch  to  Factor  Finlayson  summoning  him 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  79 

on  board.  For  three  days,  Finlayson,  hour  by  hour,  instructed  England's 
plenipotentiary  on  matters  connected  with  tliis  to  him  terra  incognita.  Then 
the  junior  officers,  Parke  and  Peel,  were  sent  via  Cowlitz  to  the  Columbia  to 
see  with  their  own  eyes  and  judge  of  the  desirability  of  acquiring  the  country. 
It  is  of  these  two  officers  that  that  persistent  story  is  told  which  will  not  down. 
It  is  said  that  their  viva  voce  report  on  returning  to  their  ship  was,  "  The 
country  is  not  worth  a  damn,  the  salmon  will  not  rise  to  the  fly." 

Meanwhile  the  "  America  "  had  crossed  to  Victoria  Harbor,  and  it  was 
incumbent  upon  Finlayson  to  do  the  honors  of  host  to  the  distinguished  of- 
ficers representing  the  awe  and  majesty  of  the  Mother  Land.  The  bachelor 
quarters  of  the  fort  were  not  very  luxurious,  but  it  was  easy  to  kill  calves 
for  the  prodigals  and  provide  a  feast  of  fat  things.  "  An  Englishman's  idea 
of  pleasure  is,  'Come,  let  us  kill  something/  "  cogitated  Finlayson,  so  after 
dining  and  wining  he  proposed  a  deer-hunt.  A  band  of  deer  made  its  op- 
portune appearance  (without  the  aid  of  beaters!),  and  the  gay  Gordon, 
mounted  on  the  best  cayuse  the  establishment  boasted,  got  the  leading  stag  in 
range,  but  the  whole  band  incontinently  took  flight  while  the  noble  lords  were 
adjusting  their  sights,  and  disappeared  in  the  dense  forest  undergrowth.  The 
commander,  sputtering  with  wrath  because  the  stag  was  inconsiderate  enough 
not  to  stand  at  "  Shun!  "  animadverted  in  choice  Saxon  upon  the  uncivilized 
nature  of  such  a  land. 

The  sun  shone  brightly  on  the  dancing  waters  of  the  straits,  the  crests  of 
the  Olympics  stood  up  like  rough-hewn  silver,  and  peace  and  plenty  smiled 
on  every  hand.  But  the  deer  had  not  waited  to  be  killed.  "  Finlayson," 
swore  Gordon,  "  I  would  not  give  one  of  the  bleakest  knolls  of  all  the  bleak 
hills  of  Scotland  for  twenty  islands  arrayed  like  this  in  barbaric  glories." 

Next  year  (1846),  a  flotilla  of  British  vessels  appeared  off  Vancouver 
Island,  the  "Cormorant"  Captain  Gordon  {not  the  deer-slayer);  the  "Con- 
stance," Captain  Courtney;  the  "Inconstant,"  Captain  Shepherd;  the  "  Fis- 
gujard,"  Captain  Duntze;  and  the  surveying  vessels  "Herald"  and  "Pan- 


80  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

dora."  Overland  also  came  Royal  Engineers,  Lieutenants  Warre  and  Vava- 
sour, arriving  in  Fort  Vancouver  by  the  annual  express  from  York  Factory. 
After  "  great  argument  about  it  and  about,"  what  is  now  known  as  the  Ore- 
gon Treaty,  was  passed  on  the  15th  of  June,  1846,  and  the  forty-ninth  parallel 
became  the  dividing  line  between  the  nations. 

Paul  Kane,  the  Wandering  Artist. 

In  April,  1847,  appeared  on  the  scene  Paul  Kane,  a  wandering  artist,  who 
in  a  very  readable  book  describes  "  those  wild  scenes  among  which  I  strayed 
almost  alone  and  scarcely  meeting  a  white  man  or  hearing  the  sound  of  my 
own  language  during  four  years  spent  among  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest." 
Kane's  interest  was  with  the  Indians,  though  we  get  from  him  not  a  few  in- 
teresting sidelights  on  the  paler  pioneers.  The  word  "  Esquimalt,"  he  tells 
us,  is  the  place  for  gathering  the  root  camass ;  "  Camosun  "  is  the  place  of 
rushing  waters.  Across  the  harbor  from  the  fort  he  finds  a  village  of  five 
hundred  armed  warriors,  the  men  wear  no  clothing  in  summer  and  in  winter 
affect  a  single  garment,  a  blanket  made  of  dog's  hair  and  goosedown  with 
frayed  cedar  bark.  The  Indians  breed  these  small  dogs  for  their  hair.  The 
hair  is  cut  ofif  with  a  knife  and  mixed  with  goosedown  and  a  little  white  earth, 
then  beaten  with  sticks  and  twisted  into  threads  by  rubbing  it  down  the  thigh 
with  the  palm.,  to  be  finally  woven  into  blankets  on  a  rude  loom  by  the  women 
of  the  tribe. 

Kane  followed  the  Indian  tribes  into  their  loneliest  lodges,  lived  with 
them,  ate  with  them,  slept  with  them,  and  so  studied  them  from  within.  He 
tells  vividly  how  the  Songhees  chief,  Cheaclach,  was  inaugurated  into  his 
high  office  after  thirty  days  of  lonely  fasting  culminating  in  a  wild  orgy  of 
dog-biting  and  biting  of  his  friends ;  the  most  honored  scars  are  those  which 
result  from  a  deep  bite  given  by  a  chieftain-novitiate — faithful  are  the  wounds 
of  a  friend. 

We  go  out  on  the  straits  with  the  artist  and  watch  these  primeval  savages 


U  K'  f  V ,  0  1 
MM  ('f;i;  I/. 


I'  'i  0  >,  I .)  f,  ;, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  81 

take  the  big  sturgeon,  weighing  often  from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred 
pounds ;  they  are  speared  as  they  swim  along  the  bottom  at  spawning  season, 
to  this  end  a  seaweed  Hne  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  spear-handles 
eighty  feet  long  and  detachable  barbed  spear-heads  are  used ;  their  fish-hooks 
are  made  of  pine-roots.  The  Indians  were  exceedingly  fond  of  herring-roe, 
which  they  were  wont  to  collect  in  an  ingenious  way.  Cedar-branches  are 
sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  river  in  shallow  places  by  placing  on  them  a  big 
stone  or  two.  The  fish  prefer  to  spawn  on  green  things,  the  branches  by  next 
morning  are  all  covered  with  spawn,  which  is  washed  off  into  water-proof 
baskets  and  squeezed  by  the  hand  into  small  balls.  Kane  says  it  is  "  very 
palatable,"  and  he  so  describes  fern-roots  roasted.  Kane  ought  to  know,  he 
was  in  like  position  with  the  old  Scot  who  declared,  "  Honesty  is  the  best 
policy,  I've  tried  baith." 

Slavery  in  a  most  cruel  form  existed  from  California  to  Behring  Straits, 
any  Indian  wandering  off  from  his  tribe  might  be  seized  and  enslaved.  The 
northern  tribes  played  a  grim  sort  of  prisoners'  base,  and  it  was  clearly  advis- 
able "  to  stay  by  the  stufif,"  for  surely  the  "  gobble-uns  will  git  you  if  you 
don't — watch — out !  "  The  slavery  that  existed  was  of  the  most  extreme  kind, 
the  master  exercised  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  his  slaves,  slaves  were 
killed  to  make  an  ostentatious  display  of  wealth,  the  body  of  a  slave  was  not 
entitled  to  burial. 

The  making  of  a  medicine-man  was  as  weird  a  ceremony  as  the  making 
of  a  chief.  It,  too,  was  preceded  by  a  period  of  fasting ;  the  would-be  medi- 
cine-man gave  away  every  earthly  possession  before  beginning  his  practice, 
depending  thereafter  wholly  upon  his  fees.  The  medicine-man  really  was  a 
magic-man,  in  direct  communication  with  God,  the  "  Hyas-Sock-a-la^Ti 
Yah."  Kane  notices  in  the  big  lodges  of  the  coast  Indians,  houses  big  enough 
to  accommodate  eight  or  ten  families,  beatiful  carved  boxes  of  Chinese  work- 
manship which  reached  Vancouver  via  the   Sandwich  Islands.     During  all 


82  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

these  years  there  was  regular  commimication  and  no  inconsiderable  trade  be- 
tween this  tropical  archipelago  and  the  North  American  mainland. 

Kane  had  wonderful  tact  in  dealing  with  the  Indians;  he  overcomes 
their  rooted  prejudice  to  being  sketched  by  telling  them  the  picture  is  to  go 
to  the  "  Great  Queen  over  the  water  "  and  then  they  crowd  his  tent  to  over- 
flowing, eager  for  the  privilege,  and  proffer  him  their  choicest  delicacy,  long 
strips  of  four  inch  whale  blubber  to  be  eaten  "  al  fresco  "  with  dried  fish. 
Ingenious  was  the  Indian  method  of  capturing  the  whale.  A  flotilla  of 
canoes  went  out. to  the  whale-grounds,  sometimes  even  twenty  or  thirty  miles 
from  shore,  each  craft  well  supplied  with  spears  and  seal-skin  bags  filled  with 
air,  each  containing  ten  gallons.  The  bags  were  attached  to  the  spears  and 
great  numbers  of  the  weapons  were  hurled  into  the  animal's  body;  with  the 
loss  of  blood  he  soon  became  too  weak  to  overcome  the  upward  buoyant 
pressure  of  the  many  floats,  and  cowed  and  dirigible,  was  towed  tamely  to 
shore  to  be  dispatched  at  leisure. 

Kane  met  the  historical  Yellow-cum,  chief  of  the  Macaws,  whose  father 
was  pilot  of  the  ill-fated  "  Tonquin,"  the  vessel  'sent  out  by  John  Jacob  Astor 
to  trade  with  the  Indians  north  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  which  was  blown  up 
in  such  a  tragic  manner. 

We  get  a  glimpse,  too,  of  the  currency  of  these  coast-wise  tribes.  The 
unit  of  value  is  the  ioqus,  a  small  shell  found  only  at  Cape  Flattery,  where 
it  is  obtained  with  great  trouble  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  It  is  white, 
slender,  hollow,  and  from  one  and  one-half  to  two  inches  long.  The  longer 
the  shell  the  greater  its  \alue.  When  forty  make  a  fathom,  their  united  value 
is  one, beaver-skin.  If  thirty-nine  will  make- a  fathom,  its  value  is  two  beav- 
er-skins and  so  on.  A  sea-otter  skin  at  this  time  was  worth  twelve  blankets. 
The  Indians  at  the  south  of  Vancouver  Island  flattened  their  heads,  those 
at  the  north  pulled  them  out  into  cones.  On  the  opposite  mainland  were  the 
Babines  or  Big-Lips,  bone-lipped  beauties  whose  lower  lips  were  incised  to 
carry  patines  of  bone,  shell  or  wood,  sometimes  so  large  that  the  ornament 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  83 

made  a  convenient  shelf  on  which  to  rest  the  food.  These  people  wear  costly- 
blankets  of  the  wool  of  the  mountain  sheep  and  bum  their  dead  on  funeral 
pyres.  The  way  letters  were  carried  by  the  Babines  or  Voyageurs  is  most 
interesting.  An  Indian  gets  a  letter  to  deliver  perhaps  hundreds  of  miles 
away.  He  starts  out  in  his  canoe  and  carries  it  to  the  end  of  his  tribal  do- 
main when  he  sells  it  to  the  next  man,  who  takes  it  as  far  as  he  dares  and 
gets  an  augmented  price  for  it,  the  last  man  delivers  and  collects  full  fare  for 
the  precious  missive.  The  mail-carrier  is  never  molested,  he  cries  in  choicest 
Chinook,  "  In  the  name  of  the  Empress  the  Overland  Mail."  and  is  given 
ever  the  right  of  way. 

Important  Hudson's  Bay  Company   Posts  of  British   Columbia. 

At  this  time  there  were  six  Hudson's  Bay  Company  forts  on  the  British 
Columbia  coast  and  sixteen  in  the  interior.  At  the  southeast  comer  of  Stuart 
Lake  stood  the  capital  of  New  Caledonia,  old  Fort  St.  James,  the  central 
figure  of  a  cluster  of  subsidiary  forts.  Taking  Fort  St.  James  as  pivotal 
point,  one  hundred  miles  northwest  was  Fort  Babine,  eighty  miles  east  was 
Fort  McLeod,  sixty  miles  southeast  was  Fort  George,  and  twenty-five  miles 
to  the  southwest  stood  Fort  Fraser.  The  highland  surrounding  Stuart  Lake 
is  a  continental  apex  or  divide  whence  flow  the  waters  of  the  mighty  Fraser 
southward,  to  the  north  and  west  the  Skeena,  while  away  to  the  north  and 
east  the  winding  Peace  takes  its  tribute  to  the  frozen  ocean. 

On  Liikes  McLeod,  Babine  and  Fraser  were  forts  of  the  same  names, 
and  Fort  Thompson  was  built  on  the  Kamloops.  Fort  Alexandria  on  the 
Fraser  was  an  important  base,  from  here  the  northern  brigade  took  its  de- 
parture, and  this  post  yielded  an  annual  sale  of  twenty  or  thirty  packs  of 
peltries.  From  Fort  Alexandria  to  Fort  St.  James  the  trafficking  merchan- 
dise was  carried  by  canoe. 

Why  emphasize  these  paltry  redoubts,  little  picketed  enclosures  sepa- 
rated each  from;  the  other  by  leagues  of  mountain-morass,  roaring  torrents  and 
well-nigh  impenetrable  forests?     What  do  they  stand   for,  these  fly-specks 


84  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

on  the  map  of  a  country  into  which  continental  Europe  can  comfortably  be 
tucked  ?  To  the  Indians  they  are  magazines  of  civilized  comforts ;  to  the 
Honorable  Hudson's  Bay  Company  they  are  centers  of  lucrative  trade,  mo- 
nopolistic money-getters ;  to  the  servants  of  the  company  we  have  seen  they, 
in  their  loneliness,  are  grim  character-makers;  to  us  who  follow  after  they 
are  the  outposts  of  empire,  the  advance  guards  opening  the  way  for  another 
off-shoot  from  the  Grey  Old  Mother.     It  is  history  in  the  making. 

Fort  St.  James  was  a  profitable  station;  it  sent  yearly  to  London  furs 
worth  a  round  quarter  of  a  million.  By  horse  brigade  to  these  great  centers 
came  the  goods  for  barter.  The  animals  were  sleek  and  well  cared  for,  and 
where  the  iron  horse  now  makes  his  noisy  way  these  patient  packers  picked 
paths  of  their  own  through  deep  ravines,  round  precipitous  mountain  edges 
and  across  swollen  streams,  carrying  the  goods  of  all  nations  to  lay  at  the 
feet  of  blanket-clad  braves. 

The  coast  forts  were  Simpson,  the  first  and  most  northerly  sea-fort  in 
British  Columbia ;  Langley,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Eraser ;  Tako,  on  the  Tako 
River;  Fort  McLaughlin,  on  Millbank  Sound;  Fort  Rupert,  at  the  mouth  of 
Vancouver  Island,  and  Camosun,  whose  name  by  transition  through  Fort 
Albert,  must  hereafter  be  known  as  Victoria,  in  honor  of  the  Great  and  Good 
Queen.  There  was  a  connection  other  than  commercial  between  these  fur 
trading  fortresses.  As  far  back  as  1833  Dr.  W.  E.  Tolmie  and  Mr.  A.  C.  An- 
derson of  the  Hudson's  Bay  service  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  a  cir- 
culating library  among  the  different  posts  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  this  great  lone  land.  From  London  came  the  books  and  periodicals,  and 
among  the  gay  blankets  and  beads  and  flint-lock  muskets  carried  by  cayuse 
and  canoe  from  post  to  post  were  tucked  novels  from  Mudie's  and  works  on 
art  and  religion  and  agriculture  from  the  Old  Land.  By  the  time  a  copy 
of  the  Illustrated  London  News  or  the  "  Thunderer "  had  percolated  from 
officers'  mess  all  down  through  the  service  till  it  reached  Sandy  at  the  forge 
or  Donald  and  Dugald  driving  the  oxen,  it  was  frayed  away  like  a  well  worn 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  85 

bank  note.  This  (1833-43)  was  the  first  circulating  library  on  the  Pacific 
Slope.  In  1848  Fort  Yale  was  founded,  on  the  Fraser  River,  and  Fort  Hope 
the  next  year.  Yale  when  built  was  the  only  point  on  the  then  untamed 
Fraser  between  Langley  and  Alexandria,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles, 
till' then  untrod  by  white  man.  Yale  was  the  head  of  navigation  on  the 
Fraser.  .  . 

Coal  Discovered. 

Fort  Rupert,  at  the  north  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  was  established  in 
the  hope  that  it  would  prove  the  site  of  valuable  coal  mines.  Coal  was  dis- 
covered there  and  a  trial  shipment  made  to  England  by  Rear  Admiral  Sey- 
mour in  1847.  B^^t  Nanaimo,  further  south,  was  destined  to  be  the  coal 
center  of  the  island.  Credit  for  the  discovery  here  attaches  to  Joseph  W. 
McKay,  of  the  company's  service,  who  located  the  famous  Douglas  vein  in 
1850,  having  heard  of  the  "  black  stone  that  burns  "  from  a  communicative 
Indian.  The  fur  traders  knew  a  good  thing  when  they  saw  it,  and  could  turn 
their  talents  into  acceptable  channels.  Before  the  expiration  of  1853  two 
thousand  tons  were  shipped  from  this  point,  fully  half  of  which  was  taken  out 
by  the  Indians.  The  company's  price  at  Nanaimo  was  eleven  dollars,  and  in 
San  Francisco,  now  at  the  flood-tide  of  its  gold-age,  the  coal  brought  twenty- 
eight  dollars  a  ton. 

Two  Strong  Men  of  Kamloops. 

In  1846  two  strong  men  reigned  at  Kamloops.  John  Tod  was  Chief 
Trader,  and  St.  Paul,  or  Jean  Baptiste  Lolo,  to  give  him  the  full  title  by 
which  the  Mother  Church  received  him,  governed  the  Shus-wap  Indians  with 
iron  hand. 

Much  of  history  and  romance  is  woven  into  the  name  Kamloops.  The 
establishment  dates  back  to  the  days  of  the  Northwest  Company,  being  builded 
as  long  ago  as  1810  by  David  Thompson  the  Astronomer.  Alexander  Ross 
in  1 81 2,  on  behalf  of  Astor's  Pacific  Fur  Company,  used  it  as  his  base,  when 


86  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

no  fewer  than  seven  tribes  traded  there ;  these  were  the  palmy  days.  Worthy 
successor  of  these  strong  ones  was  John  Tod,  wiry,  alert,  keen,  a  man  all 
through  and  through.  And  Jean  Baptiste  Lolo?  He,  too,  was  a  striking 
figure  and  worthy  the  steel  of  even  a  John  Tod.  Every  wanderer  through 
the  wilderness  notes  with  joy  these  two  chiefs,  the  white  and  the  tawny,  and 
the  struggle  for  supremacy  of  the  warring  personalities. 

It  was  in  Kamloops  that  the  pack-horses  were  bred  for  the  overland 
pack-trains,  and  horse  flesh  here  was  a  staple  article  of  diet.  Captain  R.  C. 
Mayne,  R.  N..  F.  R.  G.  S.,  pays  his  tribute  to  St.  Paul: 

"  In  the  center  room  lying  at  length  upon  a  mattress  stretched  upon  the 
floor  was  the  chief  of  the  Shuswap  Indians.  His  face  was  a  very  fine  one, 
although  sickness  and  pain  had  worn  it  away  terribly.  His  eyes  were  black, 
piercing  and  restless;  his  cheek  bones  high,  and  the  lips,  naturally  thin  and 
close,  had  that  white  compressed  look  which  tells  so  surely  of  constant  suf- 
fering. St.  Paul  received  us  lying  upon  his  mattress,  and  apologized  in 
French  for  not  having  risen  at  our  entrance.  He  asked  the  Factor  to  ex- 
plain that  he  was  a  cripple.  Many  years  back,  being  convinced  that  some- 
thing was  the  matter  with  his  knee  and  having  no  faith  in  the  medicine  men 
of  the  tribe,  the  poor  savage  actually  cut  away  to  the  bone,  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  needed  cleansing.  At  the  cost  of  great  personal  suffering  he 
succeeded  in  boring  a  hole  through  the  bone,  which  he  keeps  open  by  con- 
stantly syringing  water  through  it." 

Such  was  Jean  Baptiste  Lolo.  One  can  well  imagine  that  such  a  man 
could  not  be  found  wanting  in  personal  courage.  Although  obliged  to  be  in 
his  bed  often  for  days  at  a  time,  his  sway  over  his  tribe  was  perfect.  On  this 
occasion,  at  Captain  Mayne's  invitation,  he  rose  and  mounted,  and  rode  with 
the  party  all  day,  doing  the  honors  of  the  District  and  giving  Mayne  double 
names  for  every  striking  feature  of  the  landscape,  the  Indian  name  and  Paul's 
fantastic  French  equivalent.  For  instance,  the  mountain  upon  which  they 
climbed  was  Roches  des  Femm-es,  for  in  summer  many  Indian  women  were 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  87 

to  be  seen  scattered  about  its  sides  gathering  berries  and  the  bright  yellow 
moss,  Quillmarcar,  with  which  they  dye  their  doghair  blankets. 

St.  Paul  accompanied  Mayne  as  a  guide  upon  his  continuing  his  journey, 
claiming  a  place  of  honor  at  the  "  first  table  "  and  maintaining  that  silent 
dignity  which  sits  so  well  on  these  strong  men  of  a  past  age.  Having  for  the 
time  exchanged  cayuse  for  canoe,  Mayne  says,  "  With  all  its  many  incon- 
veniences, there  is  something  marvelously  pleasant  in  canoe  traveling,  with 
its  tranquil  gliding  motion,  the  regular  splashless  dip,  dip,  of  the  paddle,  the 
wild  chant  of  the  Indian  canoemen,  or  better  still  the  songs  of  the  Canadian 
voyageurs,  keeping  time  to  the  pleasant  chorus  of  '  Ma  Belle  Rosa,'  or  '  Le 
Beau  Soldat.'  " 

Thus  happy  we  leave  our  chronicler  and  hark  back  to  Paul  Lolo's  coun- 
terfoil, the  astute  Tod.    It  was  the  custom  every  spring  and  summer  to  send  a 
party  from  Kamloops  to  the  Pbpayou,  seventy-six  miles  away  on  the  Fraser, 
to  secure  a  year's  supply  of  cured  salmon  from  the  Indians.     This  year  a 
Shuswap  conspiracy  was  on  foot  to  rob  and  slay  the  foraging  party  from  the 
Fort,  and  to  wipe  out  the  establishment.     Scenting  the  plot    from    a    hint 
dropped  by  a  friendly  chief.  Tod  left  his  party,  now  well  on  its  way,  and  alone 
entered  the  hostile  camp.     With  ostentation  he  threw  down  his  weapons,  and 
told  them  that  he  had  come  as  a  messenger  of  mercy  to  save  them  from  an 
impending  scourge  of  smallpox.     Fortunately  he  had  a, small  supply  of  vac- 
cine with  him.     Ready  wit  suggested  his  device,  eloquence,  a  successful  bit 
of  play  acting  on  a  spirited  horse,  and  his  native  fearlessness  completed  the 
conquest.     Soon  Tod  had  the  would-be  murderers  felling  a  tree  of  immense 
proportions,  that  he  might  have  a  kingly  stump  from  which  to  officiate,  for- 
sooth ;  and  alone  amid  that  band  of  determined  cut-throats,  the  pawky  Scot, 
with  tobacco  knife  lancet,  vaccinated  brawny  arm  after  brawny  arm  till  day- 
light and  vaccine  were  gone.     The  Indians  went  away  his  sworn  slaves,  hail- 
ing him  with  loud  acclaims  for  ever  after  as  their  father  and  savior.     Well 


88  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

indeed  did  they  know  and  fear  the  plague  smallpox,  and  he  who  would  deliver 
them  hence,  was  he  not  worthy  of  homage? 

McKay  Meets  Adam-Zad. 

In  1846  a  strong  figure  looms  large  on  the  North  Coast  horizon.  This 
is  Joseph  W.  McKay,  this  year  made  General  Agent  of  the  North  Coast 
establishments.  McKay  was  staunchly  true  to  the  tenets  of  the  company 
which  he  served,  the  one  insistent  article  of  whose  creed  was,  "  Get  furs." 
Do  Indian  tribes  show  an  inclination  to  go  on  the  war-path?  Their  hostile 
intents  must  be  turned  aside,  not  because  war  is  unholy,  but  because  chiefs 
engaged  in  the  gentle  art  of  disemboweling  their  enemies  and  splitting  the 
bodies  of  babies  on  wooden  frames  as  salmon  are  split  (Cf.  History  of 
Father  Morice)  are  not  able  at  the  same  time  to  trap  beaver  and  marten  and 
bring  in  priceless  sea-otter  skins. 

McKay  had  then  to  keep  his  aboriginal  coadjutors  in  the  gentle  paths 
of  peace,  he  had  also  a  second  part  to  play.  Stationed  up  against  the  con- 
fines of  Russian 'America,  his  it  was  to  bend  every  faculty  towards  wresting 
the  monopoly  of  the  lucrative  fur  trade  of  these  hyperborean  fastnesses  from 
the  hands  of  Russia.  To  this  end  McKay  had  to  pit  his  pawky  Scottish  wits 
against  those  of  Adam-Zad,  the  Bear  that  walks  like  a  man.  It  was  a  pretty 
game  to  watch,  McKay  says:  "In  1847  ^  Chief  of  the  Stikines,  perfectly 
trustworthy,  told  me"  that  he  had  been  approached  by  a  Russian  officer  with 
presents  of  beads  and  tobacco,  who  told  him  that  if  he  would  get  up  a  war  with 
the  English  in  the  vicinity  and  compel  them  to  withdraw,  he  should  have 
gifts  of  arms  and  ammunition,  a  personal  medal  from  the  Czar  of  all  the 
Russias,  a  splendid  official  uniform  and  a  lucrative  Russian  market  for  his 
peltries  forever." 

Nor  was  the  plotting  all  on  the  side  of  the  Russians.  This  same  year 
Governor  Shemlin  of  the  Russian  Company  visited  McKay  at  Bella  Bella,  to 
ask  his  co-operation  in  ending  the  inter-tribal  Indian  wars  which  were  de- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  89 

moralizing'  the  fur  trade.  While  the  diplomatic  McKay  was  dining  and 
wining  Shemlin,  a  confidential  messenger  came  to  the  door  to  report  the 
approach  of  a  large  fleet  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  canoes  laden  to 
the  water-mark  with  furs  stealthily  procured  in  the  Russian  domain.  McKay 
was  quick  witted.  Word  was  sent  to  the  flotilla  to  return  to  the  harbor  en- 
trance, and  then  McKay  assiduously  set  himself  to  the  task  of  making  Shemlin 
gloriously  and  unconsciously  dnmk.  Scottish  cordiality  and  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  rum  did  the  trick,  and  while  Shemlin  safely  slept  beneath  the 
table,  the  illicit  furs  were  packed  away  in  the  warehouses. 

The  First  Gleam  of  Gold. 

In  1848-9  Fort  Victoria  began  to  feel  the  reflex  of  the  California  Gold 
Excitement.  At  the  new  gold  town  of  San  Francisco  prices  were  exorbitant, 
the  minds  of  the  thrifty  among  the  Argonauts  turned  to  the  Northern  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company's  Fort,  where  the  best  of  British  made  goods  could  be 
bought  at  reasonable  rates.  Amid  the  reckless  extravagance  and  prodigality 
which  distinguished  San  Francisco  in  those  early  days  there  remained  some 
who  did  not  break  saloon  mirrors  with  $20  gold  pieces  or  eat  greenbacks  in 
sandwiches.  These,  like  Mrs.  John  Gilpin,  "  although  on  pleasure  they  were 
bent  still  had  a  frugal  mind,"  and  when  winter  closed  their  placers  they  char- 
tered vessels  and  sailed  northward  to  bargain  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany traders  for  their  summer  supplies. 

Finlayson,  then  in  charge  of  Fort  Victoria,  says :  "  These  fough  look- 
ing miners  landed  here  from  their  vessels  in  1849.  I  took  them  for  pirates, 
and  ordered  my  men  to  prepare  for  action.  They  had,  I  soon  found,  leather 
bags  full  of  nuggets  which  they  wished  to  exchange  for  goods.  I  had  never 
seen  native  gold  and  was  doubtful  of  it;  however,  I  took  one  of  the  pieces 
to  the  blacksmith  shop  and  ordered  the  smith  to  beat  it  out  on  the  anvil.  The 
malleability  reassured  me  and  I  offered  to  take  the  risks  of  barter,  placing 
the  value  of  the  nuggets  at  $1 1  an  ounce.     Other  factors  followed  my  ex- 


90  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

ample,  and  this  year  we  had  nuggets  to  ship  to  England  together  with  onr 
furs." 

Finlayson  thus  naively  recording  his  scruples  about  taking  $i6  gold  at 
$1 1  an  ounce  had  no  prescience  of  the  fact  that  this  very  Fort  where  he  pre- 
sided was  destined  within  a  decade  to  be  itself  the  center  of  a  gold  excitement 
which  shook  two  continents.  With  upsetting  news  of  monthly  earned  mil- 
lions floating  in  the  atmosphere,  it  required  all  the  astuteness  of  a  James 
Douglas  to  keep  the  ill-paid  and  frugally-fed  men  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany true  to  their  contracts.  In  fact,  from  the  Columbia  posts,  many  de- 
serters made  their  way  to  the  new  El  Dorado,  some  to  return  in  the  spring 
dazzling  the  sight  of  their  cirdevant  co-workers  with  $30,000  and  $40,000 
pokes. 

Crown  Grant  of  Vancouver  Island  to  the  Hudson''s  Bay  Company, 

1849. 

A  fur  company  is  a  bad  colonizer,  foxes  and  beavers  do  not  breed  in 
apple  orchards.  The  heart's  desire  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  ever 
to  keep  the  thousands  of  square  miles  of  the  Northwest  one  unviolated  game 
preserve.  After  the  fixing  of  the  international  dividing  line  at  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  monopolists  quaked  with  fear  lest 
their  American  cousins,  now  pouring  into  the  Western  Coastal  States,  would 
pursue  their  maraudings  north  of  the  Oregon  country  and  seriously  jeopardize 
their  Indian  trade.  True,  several  years  of  their  exclusive  charter  had  yet  to 
run,  till  the  year  1859  by  direct  treaty  had  the  Mother  Country  promised 
them  the  privilege  of  sole  trade  with  the  natives.  But  with  a  free  and  pro- 
gressive people  making  permanent  settlements  to  the  south  of  them,  founding 
cities  and  looking  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  Sitka  and  Mexico  for  trade, 
the  eyes  of  the  Mother  Country  might  not  longer  be  blinded  to  her  own  col- 
onization interests  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  in  truth  it  was  the  intrusion  of 
their  own  countrymen  rather  than  the  Americans  that  the  fur  traders  feared. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  91 

Astute  as  ever,  the  officers  of  the  company,  Sir  J.  H.  Pelly  and  Sir  George 
Simpson  took  the  bull  by  the  horns.  If  the  trade  of  colonization  could  not 
be  stemmed,  might  they  not  contrive  to  get  its  current  placed  in  their  own 
hands  so  they  might  at  least  direct  it?  So  we  find  Sir  J.  H.  Pelly  writing 
to  Earl  Gray  in  March,  1847,  that  the  company  was  "  willing  to  undertake 
the  government  and  colonization  of  all  the  territories  belonging  to  the  crown 
in  North  America,  and  receive  a  grant  accordingly."  Small  wonder  is  it 
that  the  ingenious  modesty  of  this  suggestion  made  even  the  lethargic  Mother 
Land  rub  her  eyes  and  consider.  Then  Sir  J.  H.  Pelly  and  Sir  George  Simp- 
son modified  their  suggestion  with  the  assurance  that  "  placing  the  whole 
territory  north  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  under  one  governing  power  would 
have  simplified  arrangements,  but  the  company  was  willing  to  accept  that 
part  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  even  Vancouver  Island 
alone,  in  fact,  to  give  every  assistance  in  its  power  to  promote  colonization." 

Consequently,  in  1848,  the  draft  of  a  charter  granting  them  the  Island 
of  Vancouver  was  laid  before  the  Imperial  Parliament.  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke 
against  the  bill,  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce  sent  up  a  remonstrance 
and  the  press  spoke  strongly  against  the  measure.  Gladstone  objected  to 
giving  a  large  British  Island  into  the  hands  of  a  secret  company  whose  meth- 
ods were  exclusive  and  hidden  and  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  absolutism,  where- 
as the  keynote  of  British  government  was  openness.  However,  on  the  13th 
of  January,  1849,  ^^^  grant  was  consummated,  chiefly  because  in  the  opinion 
of  the  British  law  makers  it  would  conduce  to  the  maintenance  of  law  and 
order,  the  encouragement  of  trade  and  the  protection  of  the  natives. 

By  the  terms  of  the  charter  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  given  the 
island  with  the  royalties  of  its  seas,  forests  and  mines.  They  were  lords  and 
proprietors  of  the  land,  promising  on  their  part  to  colonize  the  island  within 
five  years,  selling  the  land  to  settlers  at  a  reasonable  rate,  retaining  to  them- 
selves ten  per  cent  of  such  sales  and  applying  the  remaining  ninety  per  cent  to 
permanent  improvements  of  the  colony,  roads,  bridges  and  public  buildings. 


92  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

The  crown  reserved  the  right  to  recall  the  grant  at  the  end  of  five  years  if 
not  satisfied  with  the  evidence  of  good  faith  of  the  company,  agreeing  in 
that  event  to  repay  the  company  all  moneys  actually  spent  by  them  in  colonizar- 
tion.  This  last  clause  made  it  a  very  good  bargain  indeed  for  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company — they  had  capital,  they  had  ships  in  regular  communication  with 
England,  they  had  organization  down  to  a  fine  point,  they  had  been  in  northern 
North  America  for  a  century  and  a  half,  they  knew  the  country  as  no  one 
else  had  known  it  or  would  ever  be  able  to  know  it,  they  were  on  the  spot, 
and,  lastly,  they  were  their  own  bookkeepers.  Not  hard  would  be  the  task 
for  the  canny  Scots  to  actually  expend  £10,000  and  charge  up  the  Common- 
wealth of  England  with  five  times  that  sum.  Are  not  governments  made 
to  be  fleeced?  If  the  company  were  to  hold  the  land  after  the  trial  trip  of 
five  years  or  to  give  it  up,  what  did  it  matter?  In  either  case,  the  company 
stood  in  to  win.  Lord  Gray  imposed  the  conditions  of  colonization,  and 
therein  exposed  the  hand  of  a  tyro.  The  immigrant  to  Vancouver  Island's 
shores  had  to  pay  a  pound  an  acre  for  his  land,  and  furthermore  must  produce 
five  other  men  or  three  families  also  provided  with  their  required  pound  ster- 
ling per  acre  to  settle  land  adjacent  to  him.  So  each  prospective  settler  of 
Vancouver  Island  was  to  be  a  capitalist,  an  adventurer  willing  to  risk  chances 
in  an  untried  land,  and  also  a  real  estate  and  immigration  bureau  in  his  own 
person.  Astute  Earl  Gray!  In  Oregon  to  the  south,  free  land  was  offered 
to  the  pioneer  with  no  harassing  restrictions,  without  money  and  without 
price.  A  British  subject  if  a  married  man,  merely  upon  declaring,  his  inten- 
tion of  becoming  an  American  citizen,  was  freely  granted  640  acres  of  land. 
It  was  a  case  of  patriotism  versus  pounds  sterling  to  the  incoming  rancher, 
and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  laughed  up  its  corporate  sleeve  and  continued 
its  trade  in  furs.  Statesmen  talked,  settlers  complained,  and  the  Fur  Com- 
pany ruled.  There  is  no  burking  the  fact  that  the  legalized  colonizers  of 
Vancouver  Island  retarded  colonization.  Was  this  a  boon  or  a  bane?  There 
are  so  many  points  of  view  and  so  many  factors  in  that  complex  question! 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  93 

British  subjects  were  kept  out,  true.  It  is  also  true  that  the  Hves  of  the  In- 
dians were  prolonged,  aboriginal  conditions  were  conserved  for  them  and  the 
dogs  of  development  kept  back. 

First  Colonial  Governor. 

On  the  loth  of  March,  1850,  Richard  Blanshard,  the  first  Colonial  Gov- 
ernor, landed  from  the  deck  of  the  government  vessel  "  The  Driver."  The 
captain  of  "  The  Driver  "  and  the  officers  of  "'  The  Cormorant "  in  full  uni- 
form, stood  by  while  Blanshard  himself  read  his  Royal  Commission.  It  was 
an  anomalous  position  barren  of  all  honor  that  poor  Blanshard  came  to  fill. 
There  was  no  Government  House  for  him  to  occupy,  and  except  the  Indians 
and  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  very  few  settlers  indeed  for  him 
to  govern,  and  sadder  than  all  these,  there  was  no  salary  whatever  to  go  with 
all  the  gold  braid.  The  government  of  Vancouver  Island  (i.  e.  Blanshard) 
kept  his  royal  state  for  the  present  on  board  "  The  Driver,"  and  nolens  volens 
went  where  she  went,  to  Fort  Rupert,  to  Beaver  Harbor,  up  and  down  the 
coast.  When  "  The  Driver  "  moved  on  Blanshard  accepted  a  bunk  within 
the  Fort,  and  here  took  up  his  melancholy  state.  There  were  practically  at 
this  time  no  settlers  on  Vancouver  Island  independent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  so  Blanshard's  rule  degenerated  into  settling  or  trying  to  settle  dis- 
putes between  the  officers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  their  servants. 
This  was  repugnant  and  abortive. 

Briefly,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  by  the  terms  of  their  charter  were 
absolute,  and  Blanshard  was  not  needed.  In  1851  he  sent  to  England  his 
resignation,  which  was  duly  accepted,  and  all  eyes  turned  to  James  Douglas 
as  his  inevitable  successor. 

Blanshard  made  an  attempt  at  a  little  brief  authority  before  his  departure 
by  nominating  a  Provisional  Council  of  three  members,  James  Douglas, 
James  Cooper  and  John  Tod,  to  whom  he  administered  the  oath  of  office,  it 
was  his  last  and  almost  his  first  official  act.     In  September,    1851,  James 


94  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Douglas  was  duly  made  Governor  of  the  colony,  having  been  its  ruler  in  fact 
for  many  years.  Douglas  now  set  himself  to  serve  two  masters,  the  Imperial 
Government  and  his  old  Alma  Mater,  the  Honorable  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
With  canny  care  he  first  arranged  the  important  question  of  salary,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  honorarium  as  Chief  Factor,  he  was  to  draw  £800  per  annum  as 

Governor. 

Rule  of  the  Douglas. 

When  Douglas  became  governor  Roderick  Finlayson  took  his  place  on 
the  Provisional  Council.  Colonization  went  on  very  slowly;  the  settlers  in 
1853  on  Vancouver  Island  numbered  only  450,  but  even  this  scant  population 
demanded  some  judicial  functionary,  so  we  find  in  1854  Mr.  David  Cameron 
presiding  in  Victoria  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  Colony,  with  the  princely  salary 
of  £100  per  annum.  Previous  to  this  the  only  arm  of  the  law  had  been  Dr. 
Helmcken,  whom  Blanshard  had  appointed  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  1850.  In 
1858  Mr.  Needham  succeeded  Chief  Justice  Cameron,  himself  giving  place  the 
next  year  to  Sir  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie.  Sir  Matthew  was  one  of  the  dom- 
inant men  who  left  strong  finger  marks  on  the  history  of  British  Columbia 
in  the  plastic  days  of  its  first  growth.  He  continued  to  fill  the  position  of 
Chief  Justice  of  British  Columbia  until  his  death  in  1894  in  the  75th  year  of 
his  age. 

At  a  period  when  firmness  and  discretion  in  the  administration  of  justice 
were  most  needed,  his  wise  and  fearless  action  as  a  judge  caused  the  law  to 
be  honored  and  obeyed  in  every  quarter.  Sir  Matthew  was  a  man  of  schol- 
arly attainments,  and  his  versatility  of  talents  evoked  the  admiration  of  those 
who  best  knew  him.  As  a  judge,  the  tendency  of  his  thought  was  eminently 
logical,  his  judgment  was  fearless  and  decisive. 

In  1854  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  but  one  unexpired  year  of  its 
charter,  if  settlement  was  not  at  least  begun  the  charter  must  be  lost.  To 
meet  this  difficulty  several  of  the  leading  officers  of  the  company,  Douglas, 
Work,  Tod,  Tolmie  and  Finlayson,  purchased  wild  lands  as  near  to  the  fort 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  95 

as  they  could  get  them,  paying  at  the  rate  of  a  pound  per  acre  for  their  hold- 
ings. Outside  settlers  were  naturally  dissatisfied  with  this  Family  Compact 
which  thus  reserved  to  itself  the  best  of  everything  in  sight,  and  in  1853  a 
petition  was  sent  to  the  Imperial  Government  praying  that  the  Charter  on  its 
expiry  be  not  renewed.  However,  the  petition  was  ignored,  and  in  1855  the 
Charter  was  renewed  for  a  further  five  years. 

The  First  Legislature. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  1856,  Mr.  Labouchere,  Secretary  of  State  for 
Britain,  sent  instructions  to  Governor  Douglas  bidding  him  call  together  his 
Council  and  arrange  for  the  dividing  of  the  country  into  electoral  districts, 
and  the  subsequent  election  of  the  members  of  a  Legislature.  The  result  was 
the  issuing  of  a  proclamation  on  June  i6th,  1856,  dividing  the  country  into 
four  electoral  districts,  Victoria  with  three  members,  Esquimalt  two  members, 
Nanaimo  one  member,  Sooke  one  member,  and  the  elections  were  duly  held. 
The  first  representatives  of  the  new  Assembly  were  J.  D.  Pemberton,  Joseph 
Yates  and  E.  E.  Langford  for  Victoria ;  Thomas  Skinner  and  J.  S.  Helmcken 
for  Esquimalt;  John  Muir  for  Sooke,  and  John  F.  Kennedy  for  Nanaimo. 

In  connection  with  this  election  Dr.  Helmcken  made  his  maiden  speech, 
which  is  the  first  recorded  political  speech  of  the  colony.  In  it  he  strongly 
deprecates  the  feeling  of  indifference  which  had  made  it  extremely  difficult  to 
secure  candidates  for  an  honorable  seat  in  the  new  Assembly. 

The  first  Legislature  met  on  the  12th  of  August,  1856,  Dr.  Helmcken 
was  chosen  Speaker.  Governor  Douglas  delivered  with  dignity  the  inaugu- 
ral speech,  which  gives  in  a  succinct  and  forceful  way  his  conception  of  the 
status  of  the  young  colony.     We  transcribe  it : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  of  the  House  of  Assembly : 
I  congratulate  you  most  sincerely  on  this  memorable  occasion — the  meeting 
in  full  convention  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Vancouver  Island,  an  event 
fraught  with  consequences  of  the  utmost  importance  to  its  present  and  future 


96  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

inhabitants  and  remarkable  as  the  first  instance  of  representative  institutions 
being  granted  in  the  infancy  of  a  British  colony.  The  history  and  actual 
position  of  this  colony  are  marked  by  many  other  remarkable  circumstances. 
Called  into  existence  by  the  Act  of  the  Supreme  Government  immediately 
after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  it  has  maintained  an  arduous  and 
incessant  struggle  with  the  disorganizing  effects  on  labor  of  that  discovery. 
Remote  from  every  other  British  settlement,  w^ith  its  commerce  trammelled, 
and  met  by  restrictive  duties  on  every  side,  its  trade  and  resources  remain  un- 
developed. Self-supporting,  and  defraying  all  the  expenses  of  its  own  gov- 
ernment, it  presents  a  striking  contrast  to  every  other  colony  in  the  British 
Empire;  and,  like  the  native  pine  of  its  own  storm-beaten  promontories,  it 
has  acquired  a  slow  but  hardy  growth.  Its  future  growth  must,  under 
Providence,  in  a  great  measure  depend  on  the  intelligence,  industry  and  enter- 
prise of  its  inhabitants,  and  upon  the  legislative  wisdom  of  this  Assembly. 
I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  her  Majesty's  Government 
continues  to  express  the  most  lively  interest  in  the  progress  and  welfare  of 
this  colony.  Negotiations  are  now  pending  with  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  which  may  probably  terminate  in  an  extension  of  the  Reciproc- 
ity Treaty  to  Vancouver  Island.  I  will  just  mention  that  an  impost  of  £30 
is  levied  on  every  hundred  pounds  of  British  produce  which  is  now  sent  to 
San  Francisco  or  to  any  other  American  port.  The  Reciprocity  Treaty  ut- 
terly abolishes  these  fearful  imposts  and  establishes  a  system  of  free  trade 
in  the  produce  of  British  colonies.  The  effect  of  that  measure  in  developing 
the  trade  and  natural  resources  of  the  colony  can  therefore  be  hardly  over 
estimated.  The  coal,  the  timber,  and  the  productive  fisheries  of  Vancouver 
Island  will  assume  a  value  before  unknown,  while  every  branch  of  trade  will 
start  into  activity  and  become  the  means  of  pouring  wealth  into  the  country. 
The  extension  of  the  Reciprocity  Treaty  to  this  Island  once  gained,  the  in- 
terests of  the  colony  will  become  inseparably  connected  with  the  principles 
of  free  trade,  a  principle  which  I  think  it  will  be  sound  policy  on  our  part  to 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  07 

encourage.  The  colony  has  been  again  visited  this  year  by  a  large  party  of 
northern  Indians,  and  their  presence  has  excited  in  our  minds  a  not  unrea- 
sonable degree  of  alarm.  Through  the  mercy  of  God  they  have  been  pre- 
vented from  committing  acts  of  open  violence ;  yet  the  presence  of  large  bodies 
of  armed  savages  who  are  accustomed  to  follow  the  impulses  of  their  own 
evil  natures  more  than  the  dictates  of  reason  and  justice  gives  rise  to  a  feeling 
of  insecurity  which  must  exist  as  long  as  the  colony  remains  without  military 
protection.  Her  Majesty's  Government,  ever  alive  to  the  dangers  which 
beset  this  colony,  has  arranged  with  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admir- 
alty that  the  "  President  "  frigate  should  be  sent  to  Vancouver  Island,  and 
the  measure  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  carried  into  effect  without  delay.  I 
shall  nevertheless  continue  to  conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  native  Indian 
tribes  by  treating  them  with  justice  and  forbearance  and  by  rigidly  protect- 
ing their  civil  and  agrarian  rights.  Many  cogent  reasons  of  humanity  and 
sound  policy  recommend  that  course  to  our  attention,  and  I  shall  therefore 
rely  upon  your  support  in  carrying  such  measures  into  effect.  We  know 
from  our  own  experience  that  the  friendship  of  the  natives  is  at  all  times  use- 
ful, while  it  is  no  less  certain  that  their  enmity  may  become  more  disastrous 
than  any  other  calamity  to  which  this  colony  is  directly  exposed. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  according  to  constitutional 
usage  you  must  originate  all  money  bills.  It  is  therefore  your  special  prov- 
ince to  consider  the  ways  and  means  of  defraying  the  ordinary  expenses  of 
the  Government  either  by  levying  a  customs  duty  on  imports  or  by  a  system 
of  direct  taxation.  The  poverty  of  the  country  and  the  limited  means  of  a 
population  struggling  against  the  pressure  of  numberless  privations  must 
necessarily  restrict  the  amount  of  taxation;  it  should  therefore  be  our  con- 
stant study  to  regulate  the  public  expenditure  according  to  the  means  of  the 
country,  and  to  live  strictly  within  our  income.  The  common  error  of  run- 
ning into  speculative  improvements,  entailing  debts  upon  the  colony  for  a 
very  uncertain  advantage  should  be  carefully  avoided.     The  demands  upon 


98  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  public  revenue  will  at  present  chiefly  arise  from  the  improvement  of  the 
country,  and  providing  for  the  education  of  the  young,  the  erection  of  places 
for  public  worship,  the  defence  of  the  country,  and  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  feel  in  all  its  force  the  responsibility  now  resting  upon 
us.  The  interests  and  well-being  of  thousands  yet  unborn  may  be  affected 
by  our  decision,  and  they  will  reverence  or  condemn  our  acts  according  as 
they  are  found  to  influence  for  good  or  evil  the  events  of  the  future." 

The  Family  Compact. 

The  personnel  of  the  first  Legislature  of  British  Columbia  was  largely 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  its  complexion.  James  Douglas  was  lord  para- 
mount in  his  dual  capacity  as  imperial  viceroy  and  fur  trader's  factor  in  chief. 
Work,  Finlayson  and  Tod,  chief  factor,  chief  trader  and  ancient  pensioner,  re- 
spectively, of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  comprised  both  secret  council  and 
house  of  lords.  The  seven  wise  men  of  the  House  of  Assembly  were  also 
of  the  monopoly.  Helmcken  was  staff  doctor  of  the  Company;  Pemberton, 
surveyor  and  ardent  attache ;  McKay,  clerk  of  the  company ;  Muir,  a  cidevant 
servant ;  Skinner,  an  agent  of  the  Puget*  Sound  Agricultural  Company ;  Ken- 
nedy, a  retired  officer  of  the  company;  Yates,  by  the  grace  of  the  company, 
merchant;  David  Cameron,  brother-in-law  of  the  Governor,  was  Chief 
Justice,  and  A.  C.  Anderson,  retired  chief  trader,  was  Collector  of  Customs. 

Thus  the  Government  of  Vancouver  Island  continued  until  1859,  ^^ 
which  time  ended  the  second  five  years  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  colon- 
ial domination.  It  is  hard  for  a  man  to  serve  two  masters.  Douglas  had 
four  to  serve,  namely,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  fur  trade,  the  Colony 
of  Vancouver  Island,  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  and  the, 
Nanaimo  Coal  Company.  Humanly  speaking,  it  was  impossible  for  any  one 
man  to  serve  faithfully  these  four  distinct  and  often  antagonistic  interests. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  .  99 

Gold. 

And  now  the  conservative  fur  traders  and  the  few  pastoral  off-shoots 
from  the  forts  were  to  be  startled  by  the  insatiable  auri  sacra  fames.  Gold  is 
discovered.  In  1857  ^  small  party  of  Canadians  set  out  from  the  boundary 
fort  of  Colville  to  "  prospect "  on  the  banks  of  the  Thompson  and  the  Bona- 
parte. Other  parties  succeeded  in  making  good  strides,  and  immediately  the 
news  was  in  the  air  and  soon  a  continent  was  inflamed. 

Between  March  and  June  in  1858  ocean  steamers  from  California 
crowded  with  gold  seekers,  arrived  daily  in  Victoria.  The  easy-going  primi- 
tive traders  rubbed  their  eyes  and  sat  up.  Victoria,  the  quiet  hamlet  whose 
previous  shipping  had  consisted  of  Siwash  canoes  and  the  yearly  ship  from 
England,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  found  itself  a  busy  mart  of  confusion 
and  excitement.  In  the  brief  space  of  four  months  20,000  souls  poured  into 
the  harbor.  The  followers  of  every  trade  and  profession  all  down  the  Oregon 
coast  to  San  Francisco  left  forge  and  bar  and  pulpit  and  joined  the  mad  rush 
to  the  mines.  It  was  as  when  the  fiery  cross  was  sent  forth  through  the  Old 
Land,  men  dropped  the  implements  of  their  trade,  left  their  houses  uncared 
for,  hastily  sold  what  could  be  readily  converted  into  cash  and  jtunped  aboard 
the  first  nondescript  carrier  whose  prow  turned  northward.  The  motley 
throng  included,  too,  gamblers,  loafers  and  criminals,  the  parasite  population 
which  attaches  to  the  body  corporate  whenever  gold  is  in  evidence;  the  rich 
came  to  speculate  and  the  poor  came  in  the  hope  of  speedily  becoming  rich. 
San  Francisco  felt  the  reflex  action,  every  sort  of  property  in  California  fell 
to  a  degree  that  threatened  the  ruin  of  the  state.  In  Victoria  a  food  famine 
threatened,  flour  rose  to  $30  a  barrel,  while  ship's  biscuit  was  at  a  premium.  A 
city  of  tents  arose,  and  all  night  long  the  song  of  hammer  and  saw  spoke 
of  rapidly  put  together  buildings.  Shops  and  shanties  and  shacks  to  the  num- 
ber of  225  arose  in  six  weeks.  Speculation  in  town  lots  reached  an  unpar- 
alleled pitch  of  extravagance,  the  land  office  was  besieged  before  four  o'clock 


100  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

in  the  morning  by  eager  plungers  and  some  wonderful  advances  are  recorded. 
Land  bought  from  the  company  for  $50  resold  within  the  month  for  $3,000, 
a  clay  bank  on  a  side  street  100  feet  by  70  feet  brought  $10,000,  and  sawn 
lumber  for  structural  purposes  could  not  be  had  for  less  than  $100  per  1,000 
feet.  The  bulk  of  heterogeneous  immigration  consisted  of  American  citizens 
who  strove  hard  to  found  commercial  depots  in  their  own  territory  to  serve  as 
outfitting  bases  for  the  new  mines.  It  is  not  speculators,  however,  but  mer- 
chants and  shippers  who  determine  the  points  at  which  trade  shall  center. 
Victoria,  combining  the  greatest  commercial  facilities  with  the  fewest  risks 
to  navigation,  soon  came  to  the  front  as  a  shipping  center;  to  this  end  her 
roadstead  with  its  good  holding  ground  and  her  whole  mile  frontage  of  deep 
water  largely  contributed.  Of  the  great  loads  disgorged  on  the  Victoria 
docks  from  the  San  Francisco  steamers,  most  of  the  inglorious  parasites,  the 
Jews,  brokers,  Paris  cooks  and  broken  down  gamblers  stayed  in  Victoria  to 
live  by  their  wits,  preying  upon  the  fortunate  miners,  while  the  adventurous 
spirits  pressed  on  up  the  Fraser  toward  the  source  of  gold.  All  miners  had 
to  pay  a  monthly  license  to  the  government. 

The  Fraser  River  begins  to  swell  in  June  and  does  not  reach  its  lowest 
ebb  till  winter;  consequently  the  late  arrivals  found  the  auriferous  ground 
under  water.  Thousands  who  had  expected  to  pick  up  gold  like  potatoes 
lost  heart  and  returned  to  California  heaping  execrations  upon  the  country 
and  everything  else  that  was  English.  The  state  of  the  river  became  the 
barometer  of  public  hopes  and  the  pivot  on  which  everybody's  expectation 
turned,  placer  mining  could  only  be  carried  on  upon  the  river  banks,  and 
would  the  river  ever  fall  ?  A  few  hundreds  of  the  more  indomitable  spirits, 
undeterred  by  the  hope  deferred  which  maketh  the  heart  sick,  pressed  on  to 
Hope  and  Yale,  at  the  head  of  steamboat  navigation,  being  content  to  wait 
and  try  their  luck  on  the  river  bars  there  when  at  last  the  waters  should  fall. 
These  intrepid  men  ran  hair-breadth  escapes,  balancing  themselves  on  precipice 
brink  or  perpendicular  ledge,  carrying  on  their  backs  both  blankets  and  flour, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  101 

enduring*  untold  hardships,  buoyed  up  only  by  the  gleam  of  possible  gold, 
that  will-o'-the-wisp  whose  glamour  once  it  touches  the  heart  of  a  man  spoils 
him  for  conservative  work  and  till  death  comes  leaves  him  never. 

These  determined  ones  pass  through  miseries  indescribable,  creeping  long 
distances  ofttimes  on  hands  and  knees  through  undergrowth  and  tangled 
thickets,  wading  waist  deep  in  bogs  and  clambering  over  and  under  fallen 
trees.  Every  day  added  to  their  exhaustion;  and,  worn  out  with  privations 
and  suffering,  the  knots  of  adventurers  became  smaller  and  smaller,  some 
dying,  some  lagging  behind  to  rest,  and  others  turning  back  in  despair — it  was 
truly  a  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  here  as  elsewhere  hopeful  pluck  brought  its 
reward.  At  length  the  river  did  fall,  and  the  arrival  of  the  yellow  dust  in 
Victoria  infused  new  hope  among  the  disconsolate.  In  proportion  to  the 
number  of  hands  engaged  on  the  placers,  the  gold  yield  of  the  first  six  months, 
notwithstanding  the  awful  drawbacks  of  the  deadly  trails,  was  much  larger 
than  it  had  been  in  the  same  period  in  either  California  or  Australia. 

The  production  of  gold  in  California  during  the  first  six  months  of 
mining  in  1849  was  a  quarter  of  a  million.  All  the  gold  brought  to  Mel- 
bourne in  185 1  amounted  to  a  million  and  a  half.  From  June  to  October, 
1858,  there  was  sent  out  of  British  Columbia  by  steamer  or  sailing  vessel 
$543,000  of  gold.  But  in  this  sum  is  not  included  the  dust  accumulated  and 
kept  in  the  country  by  miners  nor  that  brought  in  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany or  carried  away  personally  without  passing  through  banks  or  express 
office.  It  is  a  conservative  estimate  to  declare  that  these  last  items  would 
so  augment  the  $543,000  as  to  bring  it  up  to  at  least  $705,000  for  the  first 
four  months.  Yet  this  wonderful  wealth  was  taken  almost  entirely  from  the 
bed  of  a  few  rivers,  bank  diggings  being  entirely  unworked.  A  very  small 
portion  of  the  Lower  Fraser,  the  Bonaparte  and  the  Thompson,  was  the  exclu- 
sive sphere  of  operations,  the  Upper  Fraser  and  the  creeks  fed  by  the  north 
spurs  of  the  Rockies  remained  an  unknown  country. 

The  comparative  figures  of  the  gold  yield  were  encouraging  to  those  who 


102  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

thought,  but  much  of  the  get-rich-quick  element  became  disgruntled  and  re- 
turned to  San  Francisco,  and  the  country  was  well  rid  of  amateur  miners, 
romantic  speculators  who  built  castles  in  the  air  and  did  neither  toil  nor  spin, 
a  spongy  growth  on  the  body  politic.  The  stringent  English  way  in  which 
law  was  administered  had  no  attractions  for  these  gentry  who  fain  would  have 
re-enacted  on  British  soil  those  scenes  of  riot  and  bloodshed  which  stained 
California  during  the  first  years  of  its  mad  gold  rush. 

How  Placers  are  Worked. 

To  work  placers  one  must  have  access  to  water,  wood  and  quicksilver. 
In  California  mines  water  was  very  scarce,  in  New  Zealand  the  early  miners 
were  hampered  by  the  lack  of  wood  for  structural  purposes,  British  Columbia 
had  wood  and  water  galore.  Arrived  in  the  auriferous  region,  the  miner 
must  first  locate  a  scene  of  operations,  this  pursuit  is  called  "  prospecting." 
Armed  with  a  pan  and  some  quicksilver  the  prospector  proceeds  to  test  his 
bar  or  bench.  Bars  are  accumulations  of  detritus  upon  the  ancient  channel 
of  some  river;  they  constitute  often  the  present  banks  of  the  river;  benches 
are  the  gold-bearing  banks  when  rising  in  the  form:  of  terraces.  Filling  his 
pan  with  earth  the  miner  dips  it  gently  in  the  stream  and  by  a  rotary  motion 
precipitates  the  black  sand  with  pebbles  to  the  bottom,  the  lighter  earth  being 
allowed  to  escape  over  the  edge  of  the  pan.  The  pan  is. then  placed  by  a  fire 
to  dry,  and  the  lighter  particles  of  sand  are  blown  away,  leaving  the  fine  gold 
at  the  bottom.  If  the  gold  be  exceedingly  fine  it  must  be  amalgamated  with 
quicksilver.  Estimating  the  value  of  the  gold  produced  by  one  pan,  the 
prospector  readily  calculates  whether  it  will  pay  him  to  take  up  a  claim  there. 
In  this  rough  method  of  testing,  the  superior  specific  gravity  of  gold  over 
every  other  metal  except  platinum  is  the  basis  of  operations — the  gold  will 
always  wash  to  the  bottom. 

Next  to  the  individual  "  pan  "  comes  as  a  primitive  contrivance  for  gold 
washing,  the  "  rocker."     This  is  constructed  like  a  child's  cradle  with- rockers 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  103 

beneath,  and  is  four  feet  long,  two  feet  wide,  and  one  and  one-half  feet  deep, 
the  top  and  one  end  being  open,  a  perforated  sheet  iron  bottom  allows  the 
larger  pebbles  to  pass  through,  and  riffles  or  elects  arranged  like  the  slats  of 
a  Venetian  blind  and  charged  with  quicksilver  arrest  the  gold.  The  rocker 
takes  two  men  to  work,  one  pours  in  the  earth  and  the  sluicing  water,  the 
other  rocks. 

On  a  still  larger  scale  is  sluicing,  which  is  really  the  same  principle  ex- 
actly as  the  pan  and  the  rocker  adapted  to  a  powerful  series  of  flumes  or 
wooden  aqueducts,  down  which  some  mountain  torrent  is  deflected,  the  gold- 
bearing  earth  being  shoveled  in  from  the  sides.  By  means  of  an  immense 
hose  called  a  "  giant,"  whole  mountain  sides  of  rich  sand  are  broken  down 
and  subsequently  treated. 

Quartz  mining  ultimately  becomes  the  permanent  method  of  extracting 
gold  after  the  alluvial  placers  have  been  worked  out.  In  these  early  days 
of  gold  mining  in  British  Columbia,  the  quartz  industry  was  not  even  in  its 
infancy,  requiring  as  it  does  money,  machinery  and  concerted  action  to  crush 
the  imbedded  gold  from  out  the  encircling  quartz.  Placer  mining  is  poor 
man's  mining,  and  has  a  charm,  a  glamour  of  expectancy  which  yields  to  no 
elaborately  planned  out  campaign  of  imported  machinery,  consolidated  com- 
panies and  the  selling  of  shares.  The  free  prospector,  singly  or  in  partner- 
ship, works  off  his  own  bat,  makes  his  own  discoveries  and  locations  and  hugs 
to  his  soul  each  night  the  delirious  hope  of  m.illions  on  the  morrow.  Gold 
fever  is  a  disease  that  the  doctors  cannot  cure,  and  if  its  fiery  stream  courses 
through  a  man's  blood  for  two  or  three  successive  years,  no  conservative  posi- 
tion in  the  world  with  a  certain  salary  fixed  and  limited  will  have  power 

to  hold  him. 

Early  Placers  of  British  Columbia. 

The  Fort  Hope  Diggings  first  attracted  the  miners  of  the  gold  rush  cf 
1858,  the  best  paying  bars  being  the  Victoria  Bar,  French  Bar  and  Marinulle. 


104  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

The  official  returns  of  this  region  give  a  minimum  average  of  between  $5  and 
$10  per  man  per  day  here.     Two  miners  realized  $1,350  in  six  weeks. 

The  Yale  Diggings  embraced  the  river  banks  between  Hope  and  Yale 
and  for  some  distance  beyond  Yale  again.  Hill's,  Emery's,  and  Boston  Bars 
being  the  most  noted  diggings.  The  enormous  rush  of  miners  reaching  first 
the  Hope,  Yale  and  the  Lower  Fraser,  although  by  no  means  exhausting 
these  grounds,  did  take  the  cream  of  the  big  gettings  from  these  deposits,  and 
now  the  cry  for  richer  and  more  distant  grounds  went  up. 

In  California  was  gold  not  more  plentiful  near  the  source  of  the  streams 
and  are  not  the  rivers  of  British  Columbia  greater  than  those  of  California? 
Further  back  towards  the  frozen  ocean  the  fortune  hunters  will  go.  And  so 
the  peaceful  settlers  on  Vancouver  Island,  on  the  Cowlitz,  and  from  the  valley 
of  the  Columbia,  leave  ox  and  plow  and  steading,  the  bond  servants  of  the 
monopoly  break  their  contracts  and  throw  off  their  allegiance,  the  saw-mills 
of  the  Sound  are  silent,  and  the  northern  trek  begins  again.  By  sea  and  by 
land  the  Argonauts  pour  in,  from  Oregon  they  come  and  from  California, 
from  Canada  and  Europe,  from  Australia  and  these  isles  of  the  sea,  and  the 
world  sees  enacted  the  third  great  devil  dance  of  the  nations. 

Douglas,  the  King  of  Roads. 

Douglas  was  a  diplomat,  he  looked  ahead  and  he  knew  how  to  manage 
men.  When  the  first  benches  on  the  Fraser  were  worked  out,  and  the  miners 
would  fain  push  on  and  break  new  ground,  it  became  imperative  that  a  more 
practical  and  less  hazardous  route  to  the  front  must  be  opened  up.  The  In- 
dians knew  of  a  way  from  Lillooet,  through  the  Harrison  Lake  and  River 
and  over  the  Douglas  portages.  In  Victoria  5(X>  miners  had  their  faces  turned 
towards  the  new  diggings.  Douglas  would  try  the  virtues  of  co-operation. 
His  proposition  to  the  miners  was  this:  Each  man  as  an  evidence  of  good 
faith  would  deposit  $25  in  the  hands  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  sign 
an  agreement  to  work  upon  the  trail  until  it  was  completed;  the  Hudson's 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  105 

Bay  Company  in  return  agreed  to  carry  the  miners  to  the  point  of  commence- 
ment on  the  Harrison  River,  feed  them  all  the  time  they  worked,  and  give 
them  back  their  $25  at  the  expiry  of  the  contract.  The  length  of  proposed 
trail  (including  water  way)  was  seventy  miles.  The  scheme  worked  well, 
it  was  an  object  lesson  in  economics,  the  miners  were  well  pleased  with  their 
bargain,  and  the  Hudson'^s  Bay  Company  found  itself  in  possession  of  a 
money  making  toll-road.  Miles  were  money  in  those  days;  beans  that  could 
be  bought  in  Victoria  for  a  cent  and  a  half  a  pound  were  worth  five  cents  at 
Port  Douglas  where  the  trail  began,  and  at  the  end  of  the  communistic  high- 
way had  increased  to  the  value  of  a  dollar  and  half  a  pound. 

Death  of  the  Monopoly. 

Every  monopoly  dies  in  time,  and  even  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  with 
its  giant  agrarian  clutch,  must  pass  under  the  law.  On  August  2nd,  1858, 
the  Imperial  Parliament  passed  an  Act  to  provide  for  the  Government  of 
British  Columbia,  the  new  name  given  to  that  Pacific  Province  of  the  Mother 
Land,  stretching  from  the  forty-ninth  parallel  north  to  the  Naas  and  the  Fin- 
lay,  and  including  the  territory  from  the  crest  of  the  Rockies  westward  to 
the  sea,  with  the  Islands  of  Queen  Charlotte  and  adjacent  isles.  With  the 
expiration  of  the  company's  exclusive  license  to  trade  with  the  Mainland  In- 
dians, the  Imperial  Government  re-purchased  the  company's  rights  to  Van- 
couver Island  for  the  sum  of  £57,500.  In  the  year  1863,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  stations  in  British  Columbia  were  reduced  to  thirteen,  Forts  Simp- 
son, Langley,  Hope,  Yale,  Thompson  River,  Alexandria,  George,  St.  James, 
McLeod,  Connelly  Lake,  Fraser  Lake,  Sheppard,  and  Babine. 

Cariboo. 

In  i860  the  Cariboo  rush  began.  The  Cariboo  country  may  be  roughly 
described  as  lying  between  the  headwaters  of  the  Fraser  and  the  Thompson 
in  latitude  fifty-two  degrees  to  fifty-four  degrees  north.     The  chief  river  of 


106  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  region  was  the  Quesnel,  well  known  to  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
traders,  and  the  old  Fort  Alexandria  lay  but  40  miles  distant.  Previous  to 
i860  the  Fraser  mining  had  been  almost  exclusively  by  rocker  and  sluice,  and 
with  the  more  or  less  satisfactory  scratching  of  the  surface  operations  had 
ceased,  but  in  the  new  Cariboo  country  shafts  and  drifts  and  pumping 
machines  are  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  deep  placers.  The  1,500  miners  of 
Cariboo  shipped  to  Victoria  before  the  end  of  next  year  (1861),  two  million 
of  dollars  in  coarse  nuggets,  and  the  name  Cariboo  became  as  well  known 
throughout  the  world  as  either  Sacramento  or  Ballarat. 

Each  creek  had  a  history  of  its  own,  Quesnel  Forks  being  the  first  to 
develop  into  a  permanent  camp  and  early  assuming  the  dignity  of  a  small 
town.  Here  a  party  of  five  with  two  rockers  took  out  in  one  week  a  hundred 
ounces  of  gold.  On  the  south  branch  of  the  Quesnel  below  the  outlet  of 
Quesnel  Lake  mining  operations  persisted  until  the  year  1872,  at  which  time 
a  gang  of  Chinamen  were  still  making  ten  dollars  a  day  to  the  man. 

In  Cedar  Creek  exceptionally  rich  diggings  developed,  here  the  Aurora 
claim  with  sluices,  flumes  and  working  plant  costing  $8,000,  yielded  in  the 
year  1866,  $20,000,  and  in  August  of  the  next  year  it  was  paying  one  hundred 
ounces  a  week.  On  the  right  branch  tributaries  of  the  Quesnel  was  the 
famous  Keithley  Creek,  at  whose  mouth  in  1861,  grew  up  the  town  of  Keith- 
ley.  On  this  creek  in  this  year  five  men  in  a  single  day  laid  bare  $1,200  in 
good  sized  nuggets,  and  their  daily  outget  for  a  time  was  sixteen  ounces  of 
gold  per  man.  In  the  autumn  several  companies  turned  out  a  hundred  dol- 
lars a  day  to  the  man;  the  diggings  continued  on  Keithley  Creek  until  1875, 
the  conservative  Chinee  continuing  for  a  decade  afterwards  to  scrape  these 
auriferous  sands.  In  1864  Cunningham  Creek  "  made  good  " ;  here  a  party 
of  four  white  men  unearthed  an  old  river  channel  and  one  day  took  out  $460 
apiece. 

The  Antler  Creek  roused  the  interest  of  two  continents.  The  London 
"  Times  "  declared  the  bed  of  Antler  Creek  to  be,  like  the  heavenly  streets. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  107 

paved  with  g-old ;  rockers  yielded  easily  fifty  ounces  in  an  hour  or  two,  a  shovel- 
ful sometimes  realized  $50,  and  good  sized  nuggets  could  be  picked  out  by 
hand.  The  inevitable  stampede  followed,  and  by  June,  i860,  houses,  saloons, 
and  sawmills  were  in  evidence.  Individuals  at  Antler  made  as  high  as  $1,000 
a  day,  much  of  the  ground  yielding  $1,000  to  the  square  foot,  the  creek  easily 
produced  a  gross  output  of  $10,000  a  day  for  the  entire  summer. 

Grouse  Creek  evolved  the  famed  Heron  claim  which  had  a  wonderful 
history.  An  original  outlay  of  $150,000  put  this  claim  in  running  order. 
It  immediately  yielded  $300,000,  and  on  the  assumption  that  it  was  then 
worked  out,  the  locators  sold  it  for  $4,000.  The  newcomers  cut  an  outlet 
18  inches  deeper  than  the  previous  one,  with  the  result  that  for  the  whole  of 
that  season  eighty  ounces  a  week  were  produced.  The  Heron  Claim  re- 
mained quiescent  until  the  year  1866,  when  in  conjunction  with  the  Discovery 
and  other  claims  a  yield  of  $15,000  to  $20,000  per  share  was  realized. 

Then  Williams  Creek  looms  large  on  the  horizon.  In  1865,  Barkerville, 
on  Williams  Creek,  became  the  distributing  point  for  the  whole  Cariboo 
country,  the  aggregate  output  of  which  in  seven  years  reached  the  total  of 
no  less  than  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars.  The  gold  here  was  found  on  a 
deposit  of  blue  clay,  the  figures  of  individual  earnings  being  astounding.  The 
Steele  party  picked  out  of  the  clay  796  ounces  in  two  days,  their  aggregate 
for  two  months  being  $105,000,  while  prospects  of  $600  to  the  pan  are  au- 
thenticated. 

The  year  1862  eclipsed  the  year  1861,  and  1863  was  better  than  1862, 
and  from  1863  to  1867  the  deep  ground  diggings  of  this  Creek  were  the  main 
producer  of  all  Cariboo. 

Cariboo  is  a  sea  of  mountains  and  pine  covered  hills,  rising  to  the  height 
of  8,000  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Everywhere  are  evidences  of  volcanic 
eruption,  strata  are  uptilted  and  the  beds  of  old  streams  are  heaved  to  the 
hill  tops.  Round  this  center  of  wealth  the  main  artery  of  the  Fraser  wraps 
its  semi-circular  course  and  to  the  main  stream  the  gold-bearing  branches 


108  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

pour  their  tribute.  Lightning,  Antler,  Keithley  and  WilHams  Creeks  take 
their  rise  in  the  Bald  Mountains,  radiating  directly  from  a  peak  in  this  range 
known  as  the  Snow-Shoe  Mountain.  In  this  mountain  is  supposed  to  lie  the 
matrix  of  the  Cariboo  gold  supply.  The  great  drawbacks  which  confront 
the  miner  are  the  denseness  of  the  encircling  forests,  the  rugged  formation  of 
every  foot  of  the  land  and  the  consequent  arduous  and  expensive  nature  of  all 
transportation  work.  Added  to  this  is  the  shortness  of  the  season  for  work, 
the  severe  winter  precluding  all  operations  between  the  months  of  October 
and  June. 

The  extraordinary  yield  of  the  Cariboo  mines  appears  in  the  facts  that 
in  1 86 1  the  whole  of  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia  were  Supported 
by  the  gold  gotten  from  Antler  Creek  alone,  and  for  four  years  Williams 
Creek  supported  a  population  of  16,000,  many  of  whom  left  the  country  with 
large  fortunes.  And  yet  Williams  Creek  is  only  a  narrow  gully  worked  for 
less  than  two  miles  of  its  length  in  the  roughest  manner,  the  mining  being 
practically  a  scratching  of  the  surface  unaided  by  costly  machinery  and  desti- 
tute of  steam  or  electric  power. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  109 


CHAPTER  VII. 
A  POLITICAL  OUTLINE. 

There  are  two  sides  to  political  history,  an  outside  and  inside.  The  one 
is  contained  in  the  records  of  speeches,  in  newspaper  discussion,  and  in  of- 
ficial archives.  There  are  many  blanks  in  the  knowledge  thus  acquired. 
The  other  side  is  seen  by  personal  contact  with  the  principal  actors  in  the 
political  arena,  by  having  access  to  the  charmed  circles  behind  the  scenes. 
We  also  get  glimpses  of  the  inside  in  private  diaries  and  journals,  in  letters 
not  intended  for  publication,  in  autobiographies,  in  club  gossip,  in  the  heart- 
to-heart  talks  in  the  sanctum  sanctorum  of  the  home  or  office.  These  are  in- 
valuable in  completing  the  true  picture  of  the  times  we  wish  to  paint  for  the 
public  gaze.  They  destroy  many  illusions,  they  explain  many  mysteries,  they 
illuminate  many  manuscripts.  British  Columbia  is  not  exceptional  in  having 
its  secret  pages  of  history,  known  only  to  those  who  were  the  principal  actors, 
or  those  who  had  the  entree  to  their  confidences.  To  write  a  chapter  on  politi- 
cal events,  which  shall  truly  mirror  them,  requires  the  personal  and  familiar 
knowledge  of  the  man  who  was  contemporary  with  them,  was  an  eye-witness, 
and  mingled  in  the  strife.  There  are  few  such  men  in  the  province  qualified 
to  discourse  on  them.  Most  of  the  generation  who  took  part  in  the  early 
scenes  of  political  activity  are  dead.  Of  those  who  are  still  living  by  far  the 
greater  number  have  long  since  retired,  and  without  being  chroniclers  of  the 
daily  routine,  are  not  available  for  accurate  reminiscences.  The  one  man' 
who  has  been  continuously  active,  as  journalist  and  participator  in  public  life, 
from  the  outset — that  is,  since  1859 — is  Mr.  D.  W.  Higgins,  ex-editor  of  the 
Colonist,  ex-M.  P.  P.,  and  ex-Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Assembly.  After 
passing  through  the  California  gold  excitement  and  founding  the  San  Fran- 


no  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Cisco  Call,  he  came  to  British  Columbia,  attracted  by  the  rush,  and  in  i860 
started  the  Victoria  Chronicle,  subsequently  amalgamated  with  the  pioneer 
paper,  the  Colonist,  with  which  he  was  identified  as  proprietor  and  editor  for 
many  years  subsequently.  Having  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of  affairs, 
such  as  a  journalist  and  parliamentarian  can  obtain,  and  possessing  an  almost 
unfailing  memory  of  details,  he  was  asked  to  contribute  a  chapter  outlining 
the  course  of  politics  during  his  long  experience  in  the  province,  which  he 
kindly  consented  to  do.  What  follows  is  from  his  pen,  and  while  to  some 
extent  it  may  be  representative  of  his  point  of  view  for  which  he  is  responsible, 
may  be  accepted  as  a  reliable  summary  of  events  within  a  lengthened  and 
memorable  period  still  within  the  memory  of  a  lifetime.  While  the  facts  cor- 
respond in  the  main  with  the  printed  record  there  are  many  sidelights  which 
give  to  the  narrative  peculiar  interest  and  value. 


That  the  reader  may  intelligently  grasp  the  political  conditions  of  the 
British  Pacific  while  under  Hudson's  Bay  Company  rule  and  before  the  ter- 
ritories of  Vancouver  Island  and  New  Caledonia  were  formed  into  Crown 
Colonies,  with  one  governor  and  separate  civil  lists,  a  brief  history  of  the 
situation  as  it  existed  prior  to  the  entry  of  the  Colonies  into  the  Canadian 
Confederation,  and  for  some  years  subsequently,  becomes  necessary. 

Although  Vancouver  Island  and  New  Caledonia  (now  British  Columbia) 
were  ruled  by  Sir  James  Douglas,  the  Company's  chief  factor,  the  American 
element  largely  predominated ;  but  there  was  a  fair  sprinkling  of  British  sub- 
jects from  all  parts  of  our  great  empire,  including  many  from  the  Canadas 
a'nd  the  Maritime  Provinces.  The  men  from  the  Colonies,  having  left  a 
constitutional  form  of  government  behind  them,  chafed  and  fretted  under  the 
form  of  government  that  they  found  here,  and  those  who  settled  in  and  about 
Victoria  almost  at  once  began  an  agitation  for  a  representative  government. 
In  the  fall  of  1858,  when  the  miners  had  returned  from  their  claims  on  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  111 

mainland,  to  pass  the  inclement  months  at  Victoria,  the  agitation  for  reform 
began  to  take  definite  shape.  Many  of  the  colonial  men  had  mixed  in  politics 
in  their  homes.  Some  were  good  talkers  and  could  make  speeches  from  the 
platform  that  stirred  the  people,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  government 
was  denounced  on  all  sides  as  a  despotism,  a  family  compact,  an  oligarchy, 
etc.,  etc. 

Opposition  to  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Rule. 

The  Pacific  Colonies  at  that  time  occupied  an  anomalous  position  politic- 
ally as  well  as  commercially.  Victoria  was  the  centre  of  gDvemment,  of 
finance  and  trade.  It  was  the  place  where  the  immigrant  landed  from  the 
ship  that  conveyed  him  to  these  shores.  It  was  there  that  he  outfitted  for 
the  Mainland  mines,  and  it  was  the  place  where  he  bade  adieu  to  civilization 
and  plunged  into  the  trackless  wilds  of  New  Caledonia  in  search  of  hidden 
treasure.  There  was  a  staff  of  officials  for  each  colony,  but  both  staffs  re- 
sided at  Victoria.  Governor  Douglas  held  the  reins,  presided  at  both  council 
boards,  and  curbed  with  a  strong  hand  any  attempt  to  curtail  his  powers  as 
the  irresponsible  head  of  two  irresponsible  executives.  There  was  a  sem- 
blance of  representative  government,  but  it  was  a  mere  mockery.  A  few 
.  popular  members  were  returned  to  what  may  be  properly  designated  a 
"  mock  "  parliament,  but  the  official  members  of  the  legislative  assembly,  who 
were  all  nominees  of  the  governor,  were  largely  in  the  majority  and  were 
ever  ready,  under  instructions  from  the  ruling  hand,  to  vote  down  any  meas- 
ure that  proposed  to  confer  constitutional  rights  upon  the  people.  The  man- 
ner in  which  the  popular  members  were  returned  was  unique.  It  would 
have  been  amusing  if  it  had  not  possessed  an  intensely  dramatic  side,  in  that 
it  was  devised  with  the  object  of  stifling  the  voice  of  the  people,  and  for 
years  that  object  was  successfully  attained.  No.  elector  could  vote  unless 
he  had  a  property  qualification  of  £io  and  had  been  registered  as  a  voter  for 
a  certain  time  before  the  election.     Upon  one  occasion,  in  1859,  at  the  vil- 


112  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

lage  of  Nanaimo,  which  had  not  then  come  to  the  front  as  a  coal-producing 
centre  and  contained  a  few  score  of  inhabitants,  mostly  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany's traders,  only  one  man  was  found  to  possess  the  two  necessary  qualifi- 
cations— ^property  and  registration.  The  voting  was  open.  The  sheriff 
mounted  a  packing  case  and  opened  the  poll,  with  all  the  solemnity  of  a 
returning  officer  presiding  over  a  great  English  or  Canadian  constituency, 
by  reading  the  Governor's  proclamation  that  informed  the  true  and  loyal 
voter  (s)  of  Nanaimo  that  a  vacancy  had  occurred  in  their  (his)  representa- 
tion and  that  it  became  their  (his)  duty  to  fill  the  said  vacancy  by  returning 
a  loyal  Briton  to  represent  them  (him)  in  the  legislative  assembly.  Where- 
upon, a  certain  Captain  Stuart,  the  solitary  voter,  nominated  Charles  A. 
Bayley,  a  Victoria  hotel-keeper.  A  bystander  who  was  not  a  voter  seconded 
the  nomination.  The  poll  was  then  declared  open.  Captain  Stuart  cast  his 
vote  for  his  man  at  4  o'clock,  and  there  being  no  other  voters  or  candidates, 
the  sherijff  declared  Charles  A.  Bayley  duly  elected  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly.  The  proceedings  in  other  districts  were  equally  farcical, 
the  only  difference  being  that  instead  of  one  voter  the  number  ranged  from 
half-a-dozen  to  twenty.  Some  of  the  electors  by  virtue  of  owning  land  had 
votes  in  every  district. 

At  that  time  the  undoubted  leader  of  the  Colonials,  who  had  gathered 
at  Victoria,  was  Amor  de  Cosmos.  He  was  an  energetic  and  able  worker, 
and  being  fearless  and  having  had  some  political  experience  in  Nova  Scotia, 
he  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  position.  He  started  the  British  Colonist 
and  bombarded  the  governor  and  his  friends  with  liberal  literature  of  the 
fiercest  kind  thrice  each  week.  In  his  writings  Mr.  De  Cosmos  was  assisted 
by  a  contributor  who  wrote  over  the  signature  of  "  Monitor,"  but  whose 
name  was  Charles  Bedford  Young.  Mr.  Young  was  a  bitter  and  sarcastic 
writer.  Many  of  his  articles  were  libellous,  and,  looking  back  now  over  the 
many  years  that  have  elapsed  since  that  warfare  was  waged,  one  is  surprised 
when  he  is  told  that  Young  and  De  Cosmos  never  found  themselves  on  the 


RAPIDS,   KICKING  HORSE  RIVER. 


.1  \:  (  v,  (M 


\  5i  0  '■-,  I  .J  /;  C' 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  113 

wrong  side  of  the  lock-up.  On  one  occasion  the  government  did  essay  to 
"  muzzle  the  press  "  by  ordering  De  Cosmos  to  discontinue  the  publication 
of  his  paper  until  he  should  furnish  bonds  to  the  sum  of  £  1,000.  as  required 
at  that  time  in  Great  Britain  from  all  publishers.  De  Cosmos  suspended 
publication,  the  people  espoused  his  cause,  the  bonds  were  furnished  with  a 
rush  and  the  publication  was  resumed.  On  another  occasion,  in  i860,  the 
publisher  was  brought  before  the  legislative  assembly  for  libelling  the  Speaker. 
He  was  arrested  by  the  clerk  of  the  assembly — a  mite  of  a  man  named  Cap- 
tain Doggett — and  an  apology  was"  demanded.  The  apology  was  offered 
and  accepted  and  the  prisoner  released. 

In  1859  George  Hunter  Cary,  a  barrister  who  had  been  appointed 
attorney-general  of  the  two  colonies,  arrived  from  England.  Mr.  Cary  was 
a  very  able  man,  but  he  was  short-tempered  and  irascible.  In  his  bursts 
of  passion  he  was  known  to  denounce  the  (then)  Chief  Justice  Cameron  as 

a  " old  fool,"  cast  his  wig  and  gown  on  the  floor  and  rush  from  the 

courthouse,  remaining  away  until  he  had  been  coaxed  to  go  back  by  his  client 
and  resume  his  toggery  and  argument;  but  he  was  never  asked  to  apologize. 
Now  it  happened  that  Mr.  De  Cosmos  was  as  short-tempered  as  the  attorney- 
general,  and  it  was  not  long  before  these  two  men  clashed.  It  was  over  an 
election  for  Victoria  City.  De  Cosmos  was  nominated  by  the  opposition  and 
Selim  Franklin  by  the  government.  De  Cosmos'  return  seemed  certain,  but 
on  the  eve  of  the  election,  acting  on  the  advice  of  Cary,  a  large  number  of 
American  negroes,  who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  their  white 
countrymen,  were  placed  on  the  roll  of  voters  and  Franklin  was  returned. 
Petition  after  petition  was  filed,  but  the  legislature  refused  to  unseat  Frank- 
lin, and  he  held  on  to  the  end.  The  next  important  question  that  agitated 
the  Victoria  public  was  the  Victoria  water  supply,  just  as  at  the  present  day, 
nearly  half  a  century  later,  a  similar  agitation  has  been  launched.  At  the 
time  of  which  I  write,  Victoria  was  supplied  with  water  by  carts  that  went 
from  door  to  door.     The  water  was  obtained  from  Spring  Ridge,  where  a 


114  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

spring-  had  been  utilized  for  many  years  by  tlie  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
its  tenants.  In  this  spring  Cary  thought  he  saw  a  chance  to  turn  a  few  honest 
dollars.  So  he  purchased  the  lots  on  which  the  spring  stood  from  the  com- 
pany and  fenced  in  the  water.  The  car  men,  the  following  day,  were  in- 
formed that  unless  they  paid  a  tax  of  a  shilling  a  barrel  no  more  water  would 
be  supplied  them.  Popular  indignation  was  at  once  aroused.  The  papers 
denounced  the  sale  of  the  people's  water  supply  as  an  unpardonable  sin.  Pub- 
lic meetings  were  called.  At  these  Cary  was  hooted  from  the  platform  and 
the  populace  passed  strong  resolutions.  In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  a 
New  Brunswicker  cut  down  the  fence  and  the  car  men  filled  their  barrels  un- 
molested. The  attorney  general  received  back  his  money,  and  the  sale  was 
cancelled,  but  from  the  day  when  he  secured  the  right  to  the  spring  Cary's 
popularity  and  influence  declined.  He  was  the  constant  object  of  attack 
and  the  mere  mention  of  his  name  called  forth  the  most  vituperative  expres- 
sions. He  built  the  late  Cary  Castle,  lost  all  his  money  and  returned  to 
England  in  1867,  where  he  died  in  a  madhouse.  The  agitation  for  constitu- 
tional government  continued  unabated.  In  1863  the  franchise  was  extended 
and  Mr.  De  Cosmos  was  returned  with  several  supporters;  but  what  could 
six  popular  members  effect  in  a  legislature  of  fifteen? 

In  March,  i860.  Governor  Douglas,  attired  in  vice-regal  uniform  and 
accompanied  by  a  brilliant  staff  of  naval  and  military  officers,  convened  the 
second  Legislative  Assembly  of  Vancouver  Island  in  the  public  buildings  at 
James  Bay.  There  had  been  a  Legislative  Assembly  in  1856,  which  was  pre- 
sided over  by  Hon.  Dr.  Helmcken,  and  the  members  were  nearly  all  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  employes.  There  was  very  little  ceremony  observed  and  as 
there  were  no  newspapers  at  the  time  the  doings  of  the  body  were  never  made 
public.  At  the  opening  in  i860  Dr.  Helmcken  was  elected  Speaker,  and  the 
speech  was  read  by  the  clerk,  the  Governor,  his  staff,  the  Speaker,  and  the 
audience  standing  during  the  ceremony.  The  speech  promised  a  great  many 
things  that  were  never  carried  out  and  which  were  probably  only  inserted  to 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  115 

quiet  the  public  mind,  which  by  this  time  had  become  very  pronounced  and 
often  threatening*  in  favor  of  responsible  government.  This  House  only 
lived  through  two  sessions,  but  during  its  existence  a  strange  thing  happened. 
One  of  the  popular  members  who  sat  for  Esquimalt  was  George  Tomline 
Gordon.  In  1861  he  was  made  colonial  treasurer,  and  the  government  con- 
ceived the  brilliant  idea  of  causing  him  to  resign  and  stand  for  re-election, 
although  there  was  no  constitutional  provision  that  required  him  to  take  that 
step.  In  fact,  there  was  no  constitution.  De  Cosmos  was  put  up  to  oppose 
Gordon,  The  vote,  five  minutes  before  the  poll  closed,  stood  ten  and  ten. 
De  Cosmos'  real  name  was  William  Alexander  Smith,  but  in  California,  by 
an  act  of  the  legislature,  he  was  permitted  to  assume  the  name  of  Amor  de 
Cosmos.  On  the  occasion  of  the  Esquimalt  election  he  stood  as  William 
Alexander  Smith,  commonly  known  as  Amor  de  Cosmos,  and  his  friends  so 
voted  for  him.  The  last  man  made  a  grievous  error.  He  forgot  the  long 
formula  and  voted  for  "  Amor  de  Cosmos,"  and  his  vote  was  so  recorded. 
The  polls  being  closed,  the  sheriff  announced  a  tie  between  Gordon  and  Smith, 
and  one  vote  for  Amor  de  Cosmos.  He  then  voted  for  Gordon,  whom  he 
declared  elected.  Above  the  Legislative  Assembly  there  sat  the  governor 
with  his  executive  council,  who  promptly  stifled  every  measure  of  a  popular 
nature  which  the  government  nominees  in  the  lower  house  might  permit  to 
pass.  The  sittings  of  the  assembly  were  open  and  reporters  took  and  pub- 
lished notes  of  the  proceedings.  So  a  government  member,  who  did  not 
wish  to  incur  public  opprobrium  by  opposing  a  popular  measure  in  the  open, 
voted  for  it.  The  measure  then  went  before  the  executive  council  and  was 
quietly  strangled  there,  no  reporters  being  present. 

Independent  Colonial  Government. 

About  this  time  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  surrendered  the  unsold  public 
lands  which  they  held  under  a  patent  from  the  Crown  and  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment.    Lord  Lytton,  being  Colonial  Secretary,  proclaimed  the  colonies  of 


116  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.  Governor  Douglas  was  made  Gov- 
ernor of  both  and  New  Westminster  was  declared  the  capital  of  British 
Columbia,  Colonel  Moody,  an  officer  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  was  made 
Lieutenant  Governor,  with  a  residence  at  New  Westminster,  and  the  staff  of 
the  Mainland  Government,  which  had  resided  all  these  years  at  Victoria,  re- 
moved to  New  Westminster,  and  took  up  their  quarters  at  Sapperton,  a  short 
distance  from  the  new  capital,  where  a  handsome  Government  House  was 
afterwards  built.  It  must  be  rernembered  that  while  Vancouver  Island  had 
"  enjoyed  "  the  shadow  of  a  representative  form  of  government  the  Main- 
land had  not  even  had  the  shadow.  It  was  governed  directly  from  Victoria, 
where  the  officials  resided,  until  Lord  Lytton's  accession  to  the  Colonial 
Office.  John  Robson,  a  writer  of  great  force  and  an  able  orator,  had  mean- 
while established  the  Columbian  newspaper  and  fired  a  weekly  broadside  at 
the  one-man  government. 

In  1864  the  Home  Government  awoke  to  a  sense  of  the  anomalous  con- 
uition  of  public  affairs  in  the  Pacific  colonies,  and  appointed  Colonel  Ken- 
nedy Governor  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  Mr.  Frederick  Seymour  Governor 
of  British  Columbia,  with  separate  civil  lists.  The  new  governors  arrived 
early  in  1864  and  both  caused  elections  to  be  held  in  their  respective  colonies. 
The  official  element  predominated  in  the  legislatures  and  the  sessions  were 
marked  by  acrimonious  debates  and  the  passage  of  many  undesirable  meas- 
ures. The  civil  list  salaries  were  enormous.  Governor  Kennedy  was  voted 
$15,000.00  per  annum,  and  Cary  Castle,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1898,  was  pro- 
vided for  him  as  a  gubernatorial  residence.  Governor  Seymour  was  voted 
$20,000.00  per  annum  and  a  $50,000.00  residence  was  built  for  him.  A  feel- 
ing of  intense  rivalry  sprang  up  between  the  two  provinces.  This  was  em- 
phasized in  1866  by  the  passage  of  a  series  of  resolutions  through  the  Island, 
legislature  asking  the  Imperial  Government  to  unite  the  two  colonies  under 
one  governor  with  one  civil  list.  Victoria,  from  its  early  settlement  about 
30  years  before,  had  been  a  free  port,  no  duties  being  levied  upon  imported 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  117 

gxx»ds.  The  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  Government  was  derived  from 
direct  taxation,  which  caused  the  burden  to  fall  heavily  upon  property-owners 
and  business  men.  Mr.  De  Cosmos  succeeded  in  passing  a  resolution  calling 
upon  the  government  to  impose  a  scale  of  customs  duties,  which  the  govern- 
ment, being  pinched  for  means,  promptly  did.  The  Imperial  Government 
approved  of  the  scheme  for  uniting  the  colonies.  They  abolished  the  colony 
of  Vancouver  Island  and  organized  the  Pacific  possessions  into  one  colony 
under  the  name  of  British  Columbia,  with  New  Westminster  as  the  capital. 
The  Islanders  were  furious  at  the  loss  of  their  political  identity  and  the  seat 
of  government,  and  a  movement  was  begun  in  favor  of  Victoria  being  made 
the  capital  of  the  united  colonies.  Governor  Seymour  vigorously  opposed  the 
proposition  to  remove  the  capital  to  Victoria.  He  did  not  like  the  Islanders 
and  the  Islanders  did  not  like  him.  But  they  wanted  the  capital  even  if  Mr, 
Seymour  should  come  with  it.  In  1877  the  Imperial  Government  proclaimed 
Victoria  as  the  capital,  and  New  Westminster  submitted  with  very  bad  grace 
to  the  inevitable.  The  costly  and  pretty  Government  House,  heartbroken  by 
the  change  that  had  come  over  its  fortunes,  rapidly  fell  into  a  state  of  decay 
and  delapidation,  and  the  place  where  it  once  stood  is  now  scarcely  recog- 
nizable. 

The  Confederation  Movement. 

The  erection  of  the  Maritime  Provinces  and  the  Canadas  into  a  Confed- 
eration took  place  on  July  i,  1867.  British  Columbians  were  not  slow  in 
organizing  a  party  that  favored  the  admission  of  the  colony  into  the  confed- 
eration, if  by  so  doing  they  could  secure  responsible  government.  Mr.  De 
Cosmos  went  to  Ottawa  in  1867  and  Mr.  Higgins  went  there  in  1868  to 
urge  upon  the  Federal  Government  the  importance  of  admitting  British  Co- 
lumbia into  the  union,  and  so  put  an  end  to  a  feeling  that  existed  at  Victoria 
in  favor  of  annexing  the  colonies  to  the  United  States,  and  which  was  becom- 
ing uncontrollable. 

In  1869  Governor  Seymour  summoned  a  Legislative  Council,  a  majority 


118  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

of  which  were  officials.  Mr.  De  Cosmos,  during  the  first  session  of  the 
council,  had  for  his  lieutenant  Thomas  Basil  Humphreys,  a  bold,  aggressive 
man,  with  a  voice  like  a  clarion  and  a  flow  of  language  that  seemed  never 
ending.  Mr.  J.  W.  Trutch  (after  Sir  Joseph),  chief  commissioner  of  lands 
and  works  at  the  time,  was  leader  of  the  Legislative  Council,  and  an  attempt 
made  by  the  popular  members  to  pass  resolutions  favoring  confederation  was 
voted  down  by  the  official  members.  The  people  were  enraged  and  a  public 
meeting  was  convened  at  the  theatre,  which  was  densely  crowded.  At  that 
meeting  "  Tom  "  Humphreys  delivered  a  violent  speech,  in  which  he  attacked 
"  Joe  "  Trutch  as  a  traitor,  a  boodler,  a  self-seeker  and  an  all-round,  unde- 
sirable citizen.  The  Government  members  were  incensed  at  Humphreys' 
language  and  his  attack  on  Mr.  Trutch.  When,  upon  the  following  day, 
Humphreys  appeared  at  the  House,  he  was  confronted  with  the  scandalous 
remarks  as  reported  in  the  press,  and  asked  if  the  report  was  correct.  He 
replied:  "  It  is  certainly  correct."  A  resolution  was  then  moved  calling  upon 
him  to  apologize  to  Mr.  Trutch  and  the  Council  for  his  words.  He  refused 
to  apologize  to  Mr.  Trutch,  and  delivered  a  bitter  speech,  in  which  he  declined 
to  retract  one  word.  An  amendment  was  then  offered  to  the  resolution  that 
provided  for  his  expulsion,  and  he  was  expelled  by  an  almost  unanimous 
vote.  He  left  the  Council  chamber  and  was  received  by  an  immense  throng 
on  Government  street  and  loudly  cheered,  and  at  night  he  was  serenaded, 
when  he  made  a  characteristic  speech  in  which  he  repeated  word  for  word 
his  attack  upon  the  chief  commissioner.  On  the  next  night  a  mass  meeting 
was  held  at  the  theatre,  where  he  again  attacked  Mr.  Trutch  and  hurled  de- 
fiance at  his  "  persecutors."  Resolutions  condemnatory  of  the  action  of  the 
Council  were  carried  unanimously  and  Humphreys  was  presented  with  a  valu- 
able gold  watch,  duly  inscribed,  together  with  the  freedom  of  the  city,  and 
a  chain  as  a  mark  of  public  approval.  A  writ  was  issued  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  Mr.  Humphreys'  expulsion.     He  was  triumphantly  re-elected  for 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  111> 

Lillooet,  and  took  his  seat  at  the  Council  board,  where  he  remained  unmo- 
lested, but  did  not  again  attack  the  chief  commissioner. 

But  if  in  1870  the  official  members  of  the  Legislative  Council  were  op- 
posed to  confederation  and  passed  resolutions  declaring  that  the  time  had  not 
arrived  for  entering  the  union,  a  rapid  change  of  front  took  place  during 
the  recess.  In  the  summer  of  1870  Governor  Seymour,  who  had  been  known 
to  be  strongly  opposed  to  confederation,  was  taken  seriously  ill.  He  was 
never  a  strong  man,  and  his  constitution  had  been  undermined  by  the  climate 
of  Honduras,  where  he  filled  the  position  of  Governor  before  being  sent  to 
the  Pacific  colony.  He  was  advised  to  take  a  sea  voyage  and  embarked  in 
Her  Majesty's  ship  Sparrowhawk  for  a  cruise  along  the  Northwest  coast. 
He  failed  rapidly  and  at  Bella  Coola  he  passed  away.  The  body  was  brought 
back  to  Esquimalt  and  buried  in  the  naval  cemetery,  where  it  reposes  beneath 
a  handsome  monument  erected  by  his  widow. 

Sir  Anthony  Musgrave,  Governor  of  Newfoundland,  was  appointed  to 
succeed  the  late  Governor.  He  arrived  here  in  the  fall  of  1870,  and  it  was 
understood  that  he  had  received  instructions  to  favor  a  policy  that  would 
insure  the  admission  of  British  Columbia  into  the  Canadian  Confederation 
upon  just  and  equitable  terms.  The  Legislative  Council  was  dissolved  and 
elections  were  held  throughout  the  colony.  The  popular  members  were  all 
or  nearly  all  in  favor  of  joining  the  confederation.  When  the  Council  met 
Mr.  Trutch  introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  asking  for  the  admission  of 
British  Columbia  into  the  Canadian  Confederation.  The  terms  were  dis- 
cussed with  more  or  less  heat.  Some  of  the  speeches  were  eloquent.  The 
popular  members  taunted  the  official  members  with  having  received  assur- 
ances that  they  would  be  pensioned  or  billeted  on  some  other  unfortunate 
colony  for  the  balance  of  their  lives. 

Mr.  De  Cosmos  introduced  a  resolution  which  demanded  as  one  of  the 
terms  that  responsible  government  should  be  guaranteed  the  new  province. 
The  resolution  was  voted  down  by  the  officials,  aided  by  two  or  three  popular 


120  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

members.  It  was  held  that  the  system  of  government  should  not  form  part 
of  the  terms,  but  must  be  left  for  the  action  of  the  electorate  after  the  con- 
federation. The  elected  members  contended  that  if  this  opportunity  for  a 
change  of  the  system  was  lost,  years  might  elapse  before  another  opportunity 
would  present  itself  for  securing  a  popular  form  of  government.  The  Gov- 
ernment carried  their  point,  and  the  responsible  government  resolution  was 

negatived. 

Arranging  the  Terms. 

The  greatest  stumbling  block  to  the  immediate  passage  of  the  union 
resolutions  lay  in  the  question  of  overland  communication.  Scarcely  anyone 
believed  that  Canada,  then  in  her  swaddling  clothes,  having  been  born,  na- 
tionally, only  three  years  before,  would  guarantee  a  railway.  The  most  en- 
thusiastic advocates  of  the  confederation  of  this  colony  with  the  young  nation 
at  the  east  scarcely  dared  hope  for  railway  construction  within  a  generation, 
and  a  demand  for  a  wagon  road  with  steamboat  connection  on  the  water 
stretches  of  the  Middle  West  known  as  the  Great  Lakes,  was  all  that  most 
men  expected.  The  newspapers,  as  in  duty  bound,  maintained  a  constant 
fire  on  the  Legislative  Council,  declaring  that  nothing  short  of  a  railway 
would  lure  British  Columbia  into  the  Confederation.  But  the  Councillors, 
after  several  days  of  labor,  delivered  themselves  of  a  clause  that  adopted 
the  wagon  road  suggested  and  with  that  modest  demand  the  section  went 
through. 

Another  important  matter  that  evoked  much  discussion  was  the  question 
of  tariff.  At  the  union  of  the  colonies  of  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Co- 
lumbia the  free  pQrt  of  Victoria  was  abolished  and  for  it  was  substituted  the 
tariff  in  force  on  the  Mainland  previous  to  the  union.  This  tariff  averaged 
about  I2J/2  per  cent,  there  being  a  long  list  of  goods  that  were  admitted  duty 
free.  Canadian  goods  were  treated  as  foreign  goods  and  were  taxed  accord- 
ingly. The  British  Columbia  tariff  was  not  intended  to  afford  protection. 
It  was  for  revenue  only.     The  customs  duty  in  force  in  Canada  at  that  time 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  121 

averaged  scarcely  15  per  cent,  a  rate  which  the  early  legislator  deemed  ample 
for  all  purposes.  Now,  notwithstanding  the  abolition  of  the  free  port,  three 
years  before,  there  remained  a  good  many  people  who  believed  that  with  that 
abolition  the  sun  had  begun  to  set  on  Victoria's  commercial  interests.  They 
argued  that  the  policy  of  the  Crown  Colony  Government  had  been  to  make 
Victoria  the  storehouse  of  the  Pacific,  where  goods  of  every  description  might 
be  accumulated  in  vast  quantities,  and  from  which  the  stocks  of  merchants 
along  the  whole  coast  might  be  repleted  as  occasion  required.  Impressed 
with  this  idea,  several  importing  firms  had  erected  fireproof  warehouses  on 
the  water  front,  and  the  wharves  that  still  stand  in  the  inner  harbor  were 
placed  there  for  the  accommodation  of  heavy  stocks  of  merchandise  of  various 
descriptions.  The  owners  of  these  warehouses  and  wharves  and  the  heavy 
importers  were  most  energetic  in  their  endeavors  to  have  the  free  port  re- 
stored. Failing  in  that,  they  pressed  for  a  clause  that  would  permit  British 
Columbia  to  retain  her  12^/4  per  cent  tariff  until  after  the  completion  of  an 
overland  railway.  This  last  proposition  was  finally  agreed  to,  subject  to 
any  action  which  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  new  province,  to  be  cre- 
ated by  proclamation  after  the  final  adoption  of  the  terms,  might  take.  It 
is  almost  needless  to  say  that  at  its  first  session  the  Legislative  Assembly 
passed  resolutions  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  the  Canadian  tariff,  and  we 
have  since  lived  and  prospered  under  it  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  scale  of 
duties  in  force  in  1871  has  been  more  than  doubled  in  pursuance  of  the  pro- 
tection policy  of  Sir  John  Macdonald,  which  policy  has  been  emphasized  and 
confirmed  by  their  successors. 

Another  matter  which  occupied  the  earnest  attention  of  the  Legislative 
Council  was  the  financial  basis  on  which  the  colony  should  enter  the  Confed- 
eracy. It  was  finally  agreed  that  an  annual  subsidy  of  $35,000  and  an  annual 
grant  equal  to  80  cents  per  head  of  a  population  of  60,000,  to  be  augmented 
in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  population  at  each  subsequent  decennial  census 
until  the  population  reached  400,000,  at  which  rate  such'  grant  should  there- 


122  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

after  remain,  should  be  paid  the  province.  It  was  further  stipulated  that 
the  Dominion  Government  should  assume  the  colony's  debt  (about 
$2,000,000),  guarantee  the  interest  for  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  com- 
pletion of  the  works  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent  per  annum  on  such  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding £100,000  sterling  as  might  be  required  for  the  construction  of  a 
first-class  graving  dock  at  Esquimalt.  The  Dominion  was  further  required 
to  provide  for  the  salaries  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  judges,  customs  offi- 
cers, postal  and  telegraph  employes,  fisheries  and  militia,  and  to  maintain 
lighthouses,  buoys  and  beacons,  quarantine  hospitals,  geological  surveys  and 
the  penitentiary.  The  Dominion  was  also  asked  to  provide  for  pensions  for 
the  retiring  Crown  Colony  officers,  and  British  Columbia  was  declared  to  be 
entitled  to  six  commoners  and  three  senators  in  the  Parliament  at  Ottawa. 

The  terms  having  been  finally  passed  by  the  Legislative  Council  and  ap- 
proved by  Governor  Musgrave  in  council,  it  now  became  necessary  to  appoint 
three  delegates  to  bear  the  precious  document  to  Ottawa  and  present  it  in 
person  to  the  Governor-General  in  council.  Hon.  Mr.  Trutch,  Hon.  Dr. 
Carrall  and  Hon.  Dr.  Helmcken  were  selected  as  the  delegates.  Dr.  Helmc- 
ken  declined  and  the  Hon.  John  Robson  was  suggested  in  his  stead.  Indeed, 
his  appointment  was  on  the  eve  of  being  gazetted,  when  Mr.  Robson's  enemies 
urged  Dr.  Helmcken  to  go.  The  opposition  to  Mr.  Robson  was  based  on 
the  facts  that  he  was  an  advocate  of  responsible  government  and  that  he  and 
Mr.  Trutch  were  not  on  good  terms.  The  doctor  finally  relented  and  the 
delegation  as  originally  planned  left  for  the  east. 

At  that  time  little  was  known  of  the  vast  Pacific  empire,  with  its  bound- 
less resources  of  forest,  mineral  and  fossil  wealth,  its  inexhaustible  fisheries 
and  its  genial  and  health-giving  climate.  Although  possessed  of  every  re- 
source which,  upon  development,  would  prove  to  the  world  that  British  Co- 
lumbia, with  its  380,000  square  miles  of  territory,  was  the  richest  and  most 
favored  section  of  British  North  America,  the  country  was  but  sparsely  set- 
tled.    The  delegates,  upon  their  arrival  at  Ottawa,  were  regarded  almost  as 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  123 

visitors  from  one  of  the  heavenly  planets,  who,  having  ventured  too  near  the 
edge  of  their  world,  had  missed  their  footing  and,  falling  into  space,  had 
landed  at  the  federal  capital.  The  delegates  had  the  most  cordial  reception. 
Sir  John  Macdonald  was  the  Prime  Minister  and  Lord  Lisgar  was  the  Vice- 
roy. But  Sir  John  was  very  ill  and  when  the  delegates  arrived  it  was  feared 
that  his  end  was  in  sight.  Sir  George  Cartier  was  acting  premier.  He  sub- 
mitted the  terms  to  the  Executive  Council,  and  while  they  were  being  con- 
sidered the  delegates  were  wined  and  dined  by  nearly  every  one  of  note. 
Lord  Lisgar  remarked  that  he  was  much  impressed  with  the  ability  of  the 
delegates  in  pressing  their  claims  and  their  earnestness  of  purpose.  The 
matters  embraced  in  the  document  were  of  so  momentous  a  character  that 
several  weeks  elapsed  before  a  final  decision  was  reached.  The  Dominion 
Government,  a  year  or  so  before,  had  purchased  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany its  rights  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  were  firmly  committed  to  a 
policy  of  expansion  by  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  and  through  that 
country  of  wonderful  agricultural  possibilities.  The  terms,  as  I  have  said, 
when  they  left  Victoria,  asked  only  for  a  wagon-road,  and  the  acting  Premier, 
when  he  informed  the  House  that  the  ministry  had  decided  to  alter  the  terms 
as  submitted  by  British  Columbia,  and  had  guaranteed  to  construct  an  un- 
broken line  of  railway  to  the  tidewaters  of  British  Columbia  in  ten  years, 
startled  the  Commoners  and  the  whole  country.  The  Liberals,  led  by  Alexan- 
der Mackenzie  and  Hon.  Edward  Blake,  bitterly  opposed  the  railway  as  being 
beyond  the  financial  capabilities  of  the  country  to  build  within  the  specified 
time.  It  was  during  the  debate  on  the  terms  that  Mr.  Blake  characterized 
British  Columbia  as  a  "  sea  of  mountains,"  and  declared  over  and  over  again 
that  a  railway  built  through  that  "  sea  "  would  never  pay  operating  expenses. 
The  excitement  caused  by  the  introduction  of  the  railway  clause  was  intense 
throughout  Canada.  Public  meetings  were  held  at  all  large  centres  and 
denunciatory  resolutions  passed.  But  in  spite  of  the  most  strenuous  opposi- 
tion from  all  quarters,  Sir  George  Cartier  stood  firm,  and  after  weeks  of  de- 


124  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

bate  the  resolutions  were  finally  passed.  When  >  they  were  about  to  be  read 
for  a  third  time,  it  is  recorded  that  Sir  George  Cartier  rallied  his  supporters 
by  the  shout,  "All  aboard  for  the  West !  "  The  summons  acted  like  a  bugle 
call  on  the  nerves  of  his  followers  and  the  resolutions  went  through  with  a 
rush. 

The  terms  were  amended  in  another  important  particular.  When  the 
delegates  left  Victoria  for  Ottawa  they  were  accompanied  by  a  quiet  but  ob- 
servant gentleman  who  was  instructed  to  inform  the  Government  that  unless 
the  clause  which  withheld  responsible  government  was  eliminated  from  the 
terms,  British  Columbia  would  not  consent  to  enter  the  Confederation.  He 
was  instructed  to  tell  them  that  if  the  agreement  should  be  placed  before  the 
people  without  a  guarantee  of  this  nature,  it  would  be  rejected.  The  gentle- 
man performed  his  duties  effectually.  He  enjoyed  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  two  or  three  of  the  Maritime  Province  Ministers,  and  so  impressed  them 
and  their  colleagues  that  they  consented  to  alter  the  terms  in  that  respect  and 
give  the  people  full  political  power. 

After  Confederation  and  the  Railway. 

The  ratification  of  the  terms  in  their  amended  form  by  the  Legislative 
Council  was  an  easy  task,  and  on  the  21st  day  of  July,  1871,  British  Columbia 
entered  the  Confederation.  Mr.  Trutch,  who  had  been  in  the  meanwhile 
knighted,  and  who  was  now  Sir  Joseph,  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  he  shortly  called  upon  the  Hon.  Mr.  McCreight,  a  leading  barrister,  to 
form  a  Ministry.  Mr.  McCreight,  who  had  not  distinguished  himself  in 
politics  and  who  was  not  a  supporter  of  responsible  government,  accepted  the 
task  and  assumed  the  portfolio  of  Attorney-General.  He  called  to  his  assist- 
ance Mr.  A.  Rocke  Robertson,  as  Provincial  Secretary,  Hon.  Geo.  A.  Walkem 
as  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works,  and  Hon.  Henry  Holbrook  as 
President  of  the  Council.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Messrs.  McCreight, 
Robertson  and  Walkem  were  afterwards  made  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  125 

Proclamations  were  issued  defining  the  districts  and  calling  upon  the 
electors  to  register  as  voters.  The  suffrage  was  universal  and  voting  was 
to  be  open.  Proclamations  for  the  elections  followed  and  for  the  first  time 
in  its  history  British  Columbia  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  a  government  that 
was  responsible  to  the  people  instead  of  to  the  Crown.  The  elections  resulted 
in  the  return  of  a  "  mixed  "  house  of  25  members.  All  the  ministers  were 
returned;  but  there  being  no  party  lines  or  any  well  defined  political  issues, 
and  no  acknowledged  leaders,  the  first  was  a  sort  of  happy-go-lucky  session, 
in  which  the  fledgling  statesmen  merely  tried  their  wings,  and  got  ready  to  soar 
at  the  next  session.  The  Government  was  bitterly  attacked  by  Mr.  De  Cosmos 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Humphreys.  Mr.  Robson  was  also  a  member  of  the  new 
house,  but  he  was  not  in  accord  with  De  Cosmos  and  Humphreys,  although 
he,  too,  was  classed  with  the  opposition.  The  session  of  1872  closed  with 
Mr.  McCreight  and  Mr.  Robertson  thoroughly  disgusted  with  politics  and 
politicians.  One  of  the  most  important  measures  passed  provided  for  the 
adoption  of  the  Canadian  tariff.  Another  measure  adopted  the  ballot  and  a 
third  denied  the  franchise  to  Chinamen  and  Indians. 

At  the  opening  of  the  next  session,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  the  Government 
met  a  hostile  house.  Several  members  who  had  supported  the  Ministry 
throughout  the  previous  session  appeared  in  opposition,  and  the  Ministers  had 
not  won  over  a  single  opponent  during  the  recess.  After  a  few  days'  sharp 
struggle  the  Premier  informed  the  House  that  he  could  no  longer  consent 
to  occupy  his  seat  on  sufferance,  and  that  he  had  placed  his  resignation  in  the 
hands  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor.  Sir  Joseph  was  deeply  pained  at  the  ig- 
nominious failure  of  the  Ministry  in  whom  he  had  placed  his  entire  confi- 
dence and  the  personnel  of  which  he  highly  approved.  He  accepted  the  situ- 
ation with  ill-concealed  chagrin,  and  called  on  Mr.  De  Cosmos  to  form  a 
government.  That  gentleman  took  in  Mr.  Walkem  as  Attorney-General, 
Mr.  Robert  Beaven  as  Chief  Commissioner,  Dr.  Ash  as  Provincial  Secretary, 
and  Mr.  W.  J.  Armstrong  as  Minister  of  Finance. 


126  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

To  the  surprise  of  all  and  the  indignation  of  not  a  few,  Mr.  Humphreys, 
who  had  stood  loyally  by  Mr.  De  Cosmos  for  several  years  and  fought  his 
battles  and  those  of  the  opposition  in  and  out  of  season,  was  omitted  from 
the  list  of  Ministers.  Mr.  Robson,  who  had  fought  in  the  opposition  ranks, 
also  found  his  claims  ignored.  Both  gentlemen  went  into  opposition  with 
Mr.  Smithe  and  two  or  three  others,  but  the  new  Ministry  developed  great 
strength,  and  in  a  house  of  25  their  opponents  numbered  only  7. 

While  the  House  was  in  session  at  Victoria,  events  which  were  destined 
to  have  an  important  bearing  on  the  Pacific  Province,  and,  indeed,  on  the 
whole  Dominion,  were  transpiring  at  Ottawa.  The  Macdonald  Ministry,  in 
consequence  of  developments  that  history  has  recorded  as  the  Pacific  scandal, 
resigned,  and  Lord  Dufferin,  who  had  succeeded  Lord  Lisgar  in  1872,  called 
upon  Hon.  Alexander  Mackenzie,  leader  of  the  Liberals,  to  form  a  govern- 
ment. The  new  Premier  experienced  no  difficulty  in  completing  his  cabinet, 
and  as  soon  as  arrangements  could  be  perfected  he  asked  his  Excellency  for 
a  dissolution.  The  request  was  almost  unprecedented,  the  House  being  only 
in  its  second  session,  but  Mr.  Mackenzie  declared  that  the  House  was 
"tainted"  and,  a  dissolution  was  granted  on  the  2nd  January,  1874.  The 
Liberals  swept  the  country,  returning  with  an  enormous  majority. 

Among  the  first  of  the  acts  of  the  new  Government  at  Ottawa  was  an 
endeavor  to  obtain  a  relaxation  of  the  terms  of  union  with  British  Columbia, 
so  far  as  they  related  to  the  time-limit  for  the  commencement  and  completion 
of  the  railway.  The  Macdonald  Government  had  agreed  to  begin  railway 
construction  within  two  years  after  the  entrance  of  British  Columbia  into 
Confederation.  Three  years  had  elapsed  and  not  a  tap  had  been  struck,  be- 
yond exploratory  surveys  throughout  the  Province.  Mr.  Mackenzie  pro- 
posed to  substitute  for  an  all-rail  construction  the  water  stretches  that  lie  be- 
tween the  Northwest  and  Eastern  Canada.  Now,  it  so  happened  that  Mr. 
De  Cosmos,  the  new  Premier  of  British  Columbia,  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Legislature.     It 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  127 

was  borne  in  mind  that  when  the  terms  were  before  the  Legislative  Council 
he  had  only  argued  for  overland  communication  by  wagon  road.  He  was 
suspected  of  an  ambition  to  enter  the  Mackenzie  cabinet ;  and  there  were  not 
wanting  some  who  were  ready  to  accuse  him  of  an  intention  to  so  alter  the 
terms  as  to  adopt,  instead  of  an  all-rail  connection,  the  water-stretch  policy 
of  Mackenzie.  Before  the  session  at  Victoria  was  well  begun  Mr.  De  Cos- 
mos left  his  post  in  the  local  House  and  sailed  for  Ottawa  to  take  up  his 
duties  there,  leaving  his  provincial  seat  vacant.  He  had  always  been  in 
favor  of  the  retention  of  the  British  Columbia  tariff,  and  when  he  left  for 
Ottawa  a  resolution  for  the  adoption  of  the  Canadian  tariff  was  pending  at 
Victoria.  The  advocates  of  a  low  tariff'  were  in  an  angry  mood  at  what 
they  termed  their  betrayal.  The  Premier's  opponents  made  the  most  of  their 
opportunity  and  the  Canadian  tariff  passed  the  House.  Mr.  De  Cosmos  was 
denounced  on  all  sides  for  being  absent  when  he  should  have  been  present  at 
the  critical  moment  of  tariff  changes.  An  agitation  for  the  abolishment  of 
dual  representation,  aimed  directly  at  Mr.  De  Cosmos,  was  started,  and  a  bill 
was  passed  to  that  effect,  so  that  at  the  following  election  Mr.  De  Cosmos, 
who  preferred  retaining  his  Ottawa  seat,  was  not  eligible  to  hold  a  seat  in 
the  local  House,  and  dropped  out  of  local  politics  forever. 

The  proposition  of  the  Canadian  Government  to  relax  the  all-rail  clause 
and  substitute  a  system  of  connection  by  water  stretches  created  alarm 
throughout  the  Pacific  Province.  Public  meetings  were  everywhere  held, 
bitter  speeches  were  made,  and  resolutions  denouncing  the  new  policy  were 
almost  unanimously  passed.  At  a  meeting  convened  in  the  Philharmonic 
hall  at  Victoria  on  the  28th  of  January,  1874,  it  was  announced  that  the 
Legislature  was  at  that  moment  holding  an  evening  session  for  the  purpose 
of  rushing  through  an  alteration  of  the  railway  term  in  response  to  the  de- 
mand of  the  Mackenzie  Government.  Resolutions  of  an  almost  revolutionary 
character  were  carried  without  a  dissenting  voice.  It  was  resolved  to  present 
the  resolutions  then  and  there.     A  crowd  of  at  least  two  thousand  persons 


128  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

rushed  across  James  Bay  bridge,  which  trembled  beneath  the  tread  of  so  many 
feet,  and  swarmed  into  the  Legislative  hall,  which  they  rapidly  filled,  leaping 
over  the  bar  and  occupying  the  space  devoted  to  honorable  members,  packing 
the  galleries,  and  hooting,  yelling  and  cursing  as  they  entered.  Dr.  Trimble, 
who  was  Speaker,  called  for  order.  The  noise  was  deafening  and  the 
Speaker's  voice  could  not  be  heard  three  feet  from  the  throne.  He  was 
hooted  and  fists  were  shaken  at  him.  Then  he  left  the  chair,  thus  suspend- 
ing the  sitting.  The  members  of  the  Ministry  hurried  from  the  hall,  the 
lights  were  put  out  and  the  crowd  retired;  but  not  until  the  resolutions  had 
been  placed  in  the  Speaker's  hands.  The  motion  to  present  the  resolutions 
at  the  bar  was  injudicious,  unparliamentary  and  dangerous.  Bloodshed 
might  have  resulted.  As  it  was,  pistols  were  drawn  and  clubs  flourished,  but 
no  one  was  injured.  For  a  few  days  it  was  thought  that  the  capital  would 
be  removed  to  some  town  on  the  Mainland,  where  the  legislators  might  legis- 
late in  quiet  and  security.  The  next  day  an  unimportant  resolution,  which 
did  not  materially  aflfect  the  terms  of  union,  was  passed  by  the  House  and 
the  incident  closed.  To  illustrate  the  fickleness  of  public  opinion  it  is  only 
necessary  to  mention  that  Mr.  De  Cosmos  a  few  days  later  stood  for  re-elec- 
tion to  the  Commons  in  the  constituency  which  on  the  night  of  the  riot  de- 
clared itself  ready  to  hang  him,  and  was  successful. 

Mr.  Walkem,  who  succeeded  Mr.  De  Cosmos  as  Premier,  later  in  the 
year  bore  a  petition  to  the  Queen,  asking  Her  Majesty's  Government  to  en- 
force the  railway  clause  in  the  agreement  with  Canada,  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment having  been  a  party  to  the  agreement.  From  that  petition  sprang 
the  Carnarvon  terms,  which  provided,  among  minor  things,  for  the  building 
of  a  line  of  railway  from  Victoria  to  Nanaimo  in  satisfaction  of  past  defaults. 
When  the  Carnarvon  terms  were  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons  Mr. 
Edward  Blake  opposed  them,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie,  alarmed  at  the  defection 
of  his  principal  adherent,  did  not  press  them.  This  action,  or  inaction,  on 
the  part  of  the  Federal  Government  again  excited  the  province  to  a  fighting 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  129 

pitch.     More  meetings  were  held,  and  more  petitions  were  sent  to  Ottawa 

and  England.     An  emissary  of  the  Canadian  Government  came  to  Victoria, 

but  he  submitted  terms  which  were  not  acceptable  to  the  Go\ernment  or  the 

people. 

Lord  Dufferin's   Visit. 

The  summer  of  1876  was  a  memorable  one.  Lord  Dufiferin,  the  Vice- 
roy of  Canada,  with  Lady  Dufferin  and  a  numerous  suite,  arrived  at  Esqui- 
inalt  in  a  warship.  They  reached  the  province  via  San  Francisco,  there 
being  no  railway  north  of  that  port  at  the  time.  His  Excellency  landed  at 
Esquimalt,  where  he  was  received  with  a  royal  salute  and  a  deputation  of 
citizens  and  escorted  to  Government  House.  Along  the  line  many  triumphal 
arches  had  been  erected.  They  bore  various  patriotic  and  welcoming  devices, 
but  on  one  of  them  appeared  the  inscription,  in  bold  letters,  "  Carnarvon 
Terms  or  Separation."  This  arch  spanned  Fort  street  at  its  intersection  with 
Broad.  Lord  Dufferin,  who  had  been  previously  apprised  of  the  existence  of 
the  arch,  suggested  that  if  the  "  S  "  in  "  Separation  "  were  changed  to  an 
"  R,"  making  it  read  "  Reparation,"  he  would  pass  beneath  it.  If  it  re- 
mained unaltered  he  would  be  driven  through  another  thoroughfare.  The 
committee  refused  to  give  way,  and  when  the  vice-regal  carriage  reached 
Fort  street  it  left  the  procession  and  was  driven  along  Broughton  to  Douglas 
and  thence  back  to  Fort  street,  thus  avoiding  the  arch  altogether.  The  of- 
fensive arch  remained  standing  for  several  days,  as  a.  mark  of  defiance  and 
disaffection,  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  Governor-General  remained  at  Gary 
Castle  arranging  for  a  stroke  which  was  intended  to  quiet  the  turbulent  popu- 
lar feeling  and  put  an  end  to  the  threats  of  secession  from  the  Canadian 
Union.  Provincial  elections  had  been  held  in  1875  ^"^^  the  Walkem  Gov- 
ernment had  gone  down.  Mr.  A.  C.  Elliott,  a  barrister,  and  lately  police 
magistrate,  was  called  on  to  form  a  government.  Hon.  A.  N.  Richards  had 
succeeded  Sir  Joseph  Trutch  as  Lieutenant-Governor  a  few  days  before  Lord 
Dufferin  arrived  and  the  Elliott  Government  was  in  power.     It  was  a  very 


130  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

trying-  period  for  the  new  Governor  and  his  Premier,  with  disaffection  at 
home  and  ill-faith  at  Ottawa  to  contend  with.  There  was  another  burning 
question  which  agitated  the  constituency.  Ever  since  the  province  had 
joined  the  Dominion  a  fierce  fight  had  been  waged  between  the  residents  of 
the  lower  Mainland  and  those  of  Vancouver  Island  for  the  adoption  of  a 
line  for  the  railway  which  would  benefit  their  respective  localities.  The 
Mainlanders  insisted  that  the  proper  route  was  along  the  Eraser  valley,  with 
its  terminus  at  Burrard  Inlet.  The  Islanders  were  equally  insistent  upon 
the  adoption  of  a  line  by  Bute  Inlet,  which  would  make  Esquimalt  the  ter- 
minus. Railway  engineers  had  surveyed  both  routes,  and  it  was  known 
that  Marcus  Smith,  the  chief  engineer,  had  reported  that  the  best  route  was 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains  via  Yellowhead  Pass,  thence  to  Bute  Inlet 
(where  he  proposed  to  establish  a  ferry  and  ultimately  to  build  a  bridge),  with 
the  terminus  at  Esquimalt.  When  Lord  Dufferin  left  Ottawa  for  Victoria 
it  was  semi-officially  announced  in  the  papers  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a 
proclamation  that  would  decide  the  contest  for  the  route  in  favor  of  Bute 
Inlet  and  Esquimalt.  This  dispatch,  according  to  Lieutenant  Governor 
Trutch,  was  sent  from  Government  House  to  the  Provincial  Secretary's  of- 
fice by  an  official  messenger  and  was  handed,  so  the  messenger  reported,  to 
the  Provincial  Secretary.  From  that  "day  to  this  the  dispatch  has  not  been 
seen.  It  never  reached  the  public  eye.  Who  destroyed  it  if  it  was  destroyed, 
who  secreted  it  if  it  was  secreted,  who  lost  it  if  it  was  lost,  will  never  be 
known.  The  parties  are  all  dead.  Lord  Dufferin  always  denied  all  knowl- 
edgment  of  its  fate,  although  it  was  admitted  that  His  Excellency  handed  the 
dispatch  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor.  The  Lieutenant  Governor  said  he 
personally  delivered  it  to  the  messenger.  The  Provincial  Secretary  and  the 
Premier  were  equally  emphatic  in  asserting  that  it  never  came  into  their 
hands.  Nine  years  ago  Sir  Joseph  Trutch  told  the  writer  that  the  proclama- 
tion adopting  the  Bute  Inlet  route  was  carefully  read  by  him  and  that  he 
gave  it  to  the  messenger  himself.     He  added  that  its  disappearance  was  as 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  131 

profound  a  mystery  to  him  as  it  was  to  Lord  Dufferin.  The  Fraser  River 
route  a  year  or  two  later  was  adopted  by  the  promulgation  o£  another  proc- 
lamation, and  with  the  removal  of  four  cargoes  of  steel  rails  that  had  been 
landed  at  Esquimalt  and  Nanaimo  with  the  view  to  railway  construction  on 
the  island  from  Esquimalt  to  Seymcmr  Narrows  the  battle  of  the  routes 
came  to  an  end. 

It  was  said  at  the  time  that  Lord  Dufferin  was  deeply  incensed  at  the 
conduct  of  the  populace  when  he  refused  to  pass  under  what  he  termed 
the  "  disloyal  arch."  He  was  jeered  and  hooted,  and  an  effort  was  made 
to  turn  his  horses'  heads  up  Fort  Street;  but  the  sober  second  thought  of 
the  people  came  to  them  before  it  became  necessary  for  the  safety  and  dig- 
nity of  the  vice-regal  party  that  they  should  alight  and,  declining  to  accept 
further  courtesies,  leave  Victoria  without  carrying  out  the  object  of  their 
visit,  which  was  a  heart-to-heart  talk  with  the  people,  when  the  whole 
subject  of  railway  construction  would  be  reviewed,  and  the  inaction  of  the 
Federal  authorities  in  failing  to  carry  out  the  railway  clauses  of  the  agree- 
ment, viz.,  to  begin  construction  within  two  years  from  the  date  of  the  entry 
of  the  province  into  the  Dominion,  and  the  positive  refusal  of  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie to  accept  the  Carnarvon  terms  after  the  Colonial  Secretary  had  made 
the  award  as  an  arbitrator  between  the  Dominion  and  British  Columbia, 
were  to  be  explained  and  condoned.  It  was  argued  with  much  force  that 
the  province  had  voluntarily  accepted  the  higher  Canadian  tariff,  believing 
that  in  surrendering  its  own  tariff,  which  it  was  entitled  to  retain  until  the 
completion  of  the  promised  overland  railway,  it  was  contributing  more 
than  its  quota  to  the  Dominion  Government.  The  local  opposition  paper, 
the  Standard,  was  violent  in  its  opposition  to  the  Ottawa  Governmeot,  and 
while  it  did  not  openly  approve  of  the  demonstration  that  occurred  at  the 
separation  arch,  it  did  not  disavow  it  or  express  regret  at  the  untoward 
occurrence  and  the  insult  that  was  offered  to  Lord  Dufferin.  The  Colonist, 
organ  of  the  Elliott  Government,  mildly  rebuked  the  offenders  and  argued 


L. 


132  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

that  the  period  was  a  critical  one  for  the  interests  of  the  Island,  and  par- 
ticularly for  those  of  Victoria,  which  had  everything  to  gain  by  pursuing 
a  moderate  course  at  a  time  when  the  selection  of  a  route  for  the  railway 
hung  in  the  balance.  A  resort  to  violence  and  insult  might  prove  most 
disastrous. 

Shortly  after  the  Governor-General's  arrival  at  Victoria,  a  large  pop- 
ular deputation  waited  upon  His  Excellency  at  Government  House  and  pre- 
sented him  with  an  address  in  which  the  grievances  of  the  province  were 
set  forth  in  temperate,  yet  forcible  words.  The  Governor-General  received 
the  deputation  cordially  and  after  hearing  the  address  read,  informed  the 
deputation  that  he  would  consider  its  clauses  and  give  an  answer  at  an  early 
date.  The  vice-regal  party  visited  the  Mainland  and  penetrated  the  Interior 
as  far  as  the  limited  steam  and  stage  methods  of  transportation  permitted. 
They  were  everywhere  received  with  demonstrations  of  affection  and  loyalty. 
The  addresses  presented  were  devoid  of  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  unhappy 
differences  that  existed  between  the  province  and  the  Dominion;  but  they 
pressed  for  the  early  beginning  of  railway  construction  in  words  so  well 
chosen  as  to  elicit  praise  from  His  Excellency.  No  disloyal  arches  were 
erected  and  the  party  returned  to  Victoria  highly  pleased  with  the  results 
of  their  visit  to  the  Mainland.  The  Victoria  deputation  was  invited  to 
Government  House  some  days  later.  They  were  received  in  the  billiard 
room.  His  Excellency,  who  wore  the  insignia  of  his  order,  was  supported 
by  his  military  staff.  Lady  Dufferin,  a  charming  and  beautiful  woman, 
stood  by  his  side  and  remained  there  during  the  interview,  which  lasted  about 
two  hours.  His  Excellency  considered  the  address  clause  by  clause,  deliver- 
ing the  most  eloquent  and  effective  address  it  had  ever  been  the  good  for- 
tune of  the  writer  to  hear.  His  speech  occupied  nearly  two  hours,  his 
hearers  listening  with  rapt  attention  to  the  glowing  words  that  fell  from 
his  lips.  He  reviewed  the  whole  situation,  and  while  admitting  that  the 
province  had  been  disappointed  in  one  detail  of  the  terms,    claimed    that 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  133 

every  other  obligation  had  been  faithfully  kept.  He  attributed  the  delay 
in  carrying  out  the  railway  obligation  to  the  financial  condition  of  the  country 
and  the  insufficiency  of  the  surveys,  instead  of,  as  had  been  charged,  to 
a  deliberate  intention  on  the  part  of  the  Dominion  to  break  faith.  When  he 
considered  the  part  of  the  address  which  pressed  the  right  of  the  province 
to  separate  from  the  Dominion,  he  plainly  told  them  that  the  desire  for  a 
dissolution  did  not  extend  to  the  Mainland,  where  the  sentiment  was  one  of 
unbroken  loyalty  to  the  Dominion.  He  pointed  out  that  if  the  Islanders' 
demand  to  secede  was  admitted  they  would  go  out  alone.  The  Mainland 
w^ould  not  accompany  them.  The  Imperial  Government  would  not  consent 
to  the  annexation  of  Vancouver  Island  to  the  United  States,  and  the  Island 
would  stand  in  a  position  of  isolation  subject  to  all  the  political  disad- 
vantages of  a  Crown  Colony  form  of  government,  from  which  it  had  just 
escaped  by  joining  Canada.  He  then  drew  a  picture  of  Vancouver  Island 
weighed  down  by  debt  and  in  a  forlorn  condition,  with  the  commerce  of 
the  empire  passing  its  doors,  while  the  Mainland,  which  would  be  connected 
witli  the  east  with  a  transcontinental  railway,  prosperous  and  contented, 
strode  on  to  greatness  and  power,  regarding  her  ill-advised  sister  with 
a  feeling  akin  to  pity.  His  Excellency  concluded  a  long  oration  with  an 
eloquent  peroration  in  which  he  referred  to  "  this  glorious  province  "  and  its 
prospects  in  enthusiastic  and  prophetic  language. 

Lord  Dufferin  bowed  to  his  audience  as  a  signal  that  the  interview  was 
at  an  end,  and  the  deputation  withdrew  in  silence  and  buried  in  serious 
thought.  Canada's  case  had  been  presented  as  it  had  never  before  been 
presented,  and  the  deputation  was  impressed  for  the  first  time  with  the  belief 
that  while  British  Columbia  undoubtedly  had  a  grievance  Canada  had  a  just 
claim  upon  the  sympathy  and  consideration  of  the  province  for  the  failure  to 
begin  railway  construction  within  the  time-limit  fixed  by  the  terms  of  union. 

After  the  departure  of  Lord  Dufferin  for  home  the  talk  of  secession 
grew  fainter.     His  words  had  set  the  leaders  of  the  separationists  thinking 


134  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

and  they  had  at  last  concluded  that  separation  would  be  prejudicial  to  the 
Island's  interests,  so  they  confined  their  agitation  within  constitutional  lim- 
its, and  while  they  continued  to  press  for  the  Carnarvon  terms  their  language 
was  moderate  and  gave  no  ofifense  at  Ottawa. 

Strenuous  Politics. 

Mr.  Elliott's  government,  which  had  gained  office  after  the  election 
of  1875,  held  on  during  two  stormy  sessions.  They  were  vigorously  opposed 
by  Mr.  Walkem  and  Mr.  Humphreys,  his  first  lieutenant.  Mr.  Elliott  was 
asserted  by  his  admirers  to  be  an  able  man ;  but  he  was  fond  of  his  ease  and 
his  books  and  was  no  match  in  debate  for  his  alert  and  active  opponents.  He 
simply  could  not  turn  his  thoughts  to  politics.  They  were  distasteful  to 
him.  Most  of  the  time  since  his  arrival  in  the  colonies  in  1859  had  been 
devoted  to  discharging  his  duties  as  magistrate — first  at  Yale,  then  at  Lil- 
looet,  and  afterwards  at  Victoria.  As  a  magistrate,  he  was  a  marked  suc- 
cess. As  a  politician  and  as  leader  of  the  House  he  was  a  conspicuous  failure, 
and  no  one  was  better  aware  of  that  fact  than  himself.  His  opponents  held 
him  up  to  ridicule  in  the  House  and  to  the  country.  He  was  denounced  as 
a  traitor  to  the  province,  was  told  that  his  government  had  sold  the  colony 
to  Mackenzie  and  that  in  consequence  of  his  supineness  and  treachery  the 
child  yet  unborn  would  not  live  to  see  the  first  rail  of  a  transcontinental  line 
laid  in  British  Columbia.  The  session  of  1878  was  worse  for  the  Govern- 
ment's interests  than  any  that  preceded  it.  In  the  previous  sessions,  Mr. 
Elliott  had  had  an  unbroken  majority  of  four.  In  the  session  of  1878,  one 
of  his  supporters  fell  off  and  his  majority  was  reduced  to  two.  From 
the  date  of  that  vote,  which  showed  that  the  solid  ranks  of  the  Government 
were  broken,  the  opposition  rode  roughshod  over  the  ministry.  They  dis- 
puted the  passage  of  every  public  measure,  opposed  the  most  trivial  motions 
when  moved  by  a  supporter  of  the  government,  and,  in  reality,  "  ran  the 
House."     Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse.     The  country  was  suffering  for 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  135 

legislation.  Road  work  was  suspended,  salaries  were  unpaid  and  the  treas- 
ury was  at  a  low  ebb.  A  vigorous,  militant  man  at  the  head  of  the  ministry 
could  have  saved  it  with  a  majority  of  two;  but  Mr.  Elliott  was  neither 
one  nor  the  other.  Mr.  Walkem,  with  only  the  casting  vote  of  the  speaker, 
had  held  office  in  1875,  in  spite  of  all  the  opposition  could  do  to  dislodge 
him.  It  is  true,  upon  dissolution  he  was  defeated,  but  he  succumbed  to  the 
demand  of  the  country,  not  to  that  of  an  evenly  divided  legislature. 

At  last  Mr.  Elliott  surrendered.  A  conference  was  arranged  tetween 
him  and  the  leader  of  the  opposition.  The  latter  demanded,  did  not  ask, 
that  the  House  should  be  dissolved  on  the  opposition's  terms.  He  offered 
to  permit  certain  money  votes  and  a  little  necessary  legislation  to  pass.  When 
tliat  had  been  done  there  must  l^e  a  dissolution  and  an  appeal  to  the  electo- 
rate. The  premier  consented  to  the  humiliating  proposition,  and  an  appeal 
to  the  country  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the  ministry.  Their  candidates 
were  mostly  defeated.  At  Victoria,  the  premier  and  all  his  supporters  were 
beaten  by  decisive  majorities.  The  other  towns,  and  many  of  the  country 
districts,  were  equally  pronounced  in  condemnation  of  the  ministry  and 
when  in  September  following  the  House  was  called  together  by  the  new 
premier,  Mr.  Walkem,  a  mere  handful  of  opponents,  under  the  guidance  of 
Mr.  Smithe,  confronted  him.  Mr.  Walkem  had  the  wisdom  to  take  Mr. 
Humphreys  into  his  cabinet  and,  strange  to  relate,  that  gentleman  sat  through 
four  sessions  and  scarcely  uttered  a  word,  nor  did  he  introduce  a  single 
measure.  From  a  hard  hitting,  forcible  debater  he  became  silent  as  an  oyster 
and  sat  at  his  desk  twirling  his  thumbs,  or  lounged  through  the  lobby  smok- 
ing Havanas.  The  year  1878  is  remarkable  for  the  fact  that  during  it  two 
sessions  of  the  Legislature  were  held.  The  new  House  eagerly  voted  the 
supplies  and  some  needed  legislation,  and  was  prorogued  after  passing  an 
address  to  the  Home  Government  calling  attention  to  the  continued  failure 
of  the  Dominion  Government  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  union. 

The  year  1878  also  witnessed  the  return  of  the  Liberal-Conservative 


136  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

party  to  power  at  Ottawa,  with  Sir  John  Macclonald  as  Premier.  Lord  Duf- 
ferin's  term  had  expired  and  he  had  been  succeeded  by  the  Marquis  of  Lome, 
now  Duke  of  Argyle,  whose  wife  is  the  Princess  Louise,  daughter  of  our 
late  Queen.  One  of  the  first  official  acts  of  the  new  Governor-General  was 
to  acquaint  himself  with  the  nature  of  the  grievances  of  the  people  of  British 
Columbia,  and  to  set  about  devising  a  remedy.  He  found  Sir  John  Macdon- 
ald  disposed  to  lend  a  willing  ear  to  the  complaints  of  the  Columbians,  but 
the  Premier  was  hampered  by  some  of  his  colleagues,  who  feared  to  bring 
down  a  measure  providing  for  the  payment  of  a  large  sum  of  money  to 
secure  the  fulfillment  of  the  Carnarvon  agreement.  The  petition  of  the 
Walkem  Government  had  been  duly  received  at  Ottawa;  where  it  was  pigeon- 
holed by  the  Secretary  of  State.  It  reposed  in  its  hiding  place  for  more  than 
a  year  when,  no  answer  or  acknowledgment  from  the  Imperial  Government 
having  been  received,  an  enquiry  was  set  on  foot  and  the  precious  document 
was  brought  to  light.  Another  petition  was  sent  to  the  Governor-General 
and  was  duly  acknowledged.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Fraser  River  route  was 
proclaimed  as  the  chosen  route  for  the  railway,  and  in  the  spring  of  1880 
railway  construction  was  commenced  on  the  Mainland.  The  work  was 
vigorously  prosecuted  on  the  Pacific  end;  while  the  C.  P.  R.  pushed  ahead 
on  the  other  end.  The  heavy  expenditure  consequent  upon  railway  con- 
struction in  the  province  pleased  British  Columbians  generally,  but  a  large 
and  influential  party  was  still  dissatisfied  and  pointed  out  that  while  the 
Mainland  had  secured  a  railway  the  Island  was  still  denied  the  section  of 
road  promised  by  the  Carnarvon  terms.  It  is  true  that  in  1876  Marcus 
Smith  had  driven  stakes  near  the  naval  hospital  at  Esquimalt.  These  stakes 
he  named  the  "  terminal  stakes  of  the  transcontinental  railway,"  which  ,was 
to  have  its  terminal  point  there  after  traversing  Yellowhead  Pass  and  the 
Bute  Inlet  country,  but  nothing  further  was  done,  although  the  people  of 
Victoria    and    Esquimalt   were   greatly   elated   by   the   stake-driving,    which 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  13T 

seemed  to  be  the  beginning  of  the  realization  of  their  hopes.     The  stakes 
remained  where  Smith  drove  them  for  many  years  and  finally  rotted  away. 

Lord  Lorne  and  the  Settlement  Act. 

In  1882  it  was  announced  that  the  Governor-General  and  his  royal  con- 
sort would  visit  the  Province.  Great  preparations  were  made  to  receive 
the  distinguished  visitors,  who  arrived  by  the  cruiser  Comus  and  landed  at 
Esquimalt.  They  were  received  with  royal  salutes  and  beneath  triumphal 
arches  were  presented  with  addresses  that  breathed  the  loftiest  spirit  of 
loyalty  and  regard  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants.  They  were  escorted  to 
Victoria  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  outriders  and  a  large  cavalcade  of  mounted 
citizens,  preceded  by  bands  of  music.  Prominent  among  the  instruments 
were  the  Scottish  bagpipes  played  upon  by  a  Scotchman  from  the  estate  of 
the  Duke  of  Argyle.  Government  House  had  been  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  august  pair  and  their  suite.  The  Marquis  and  the  Princess  re- 
mained in  the  province  for  nearly  three  months.  They  were  feted  at  every 
place  where  they  visited.  All  classes  vied  in  paying  their  respects  to  the 
Queen's  daughter  and  her  distinguished  husband.  Balls,  dinners  and  at 
homes  and  riding  and  driving  parties  were  of  frequent  occurrence  and  all 
classes  were  charmed  by  the  simple  and  unaffected  manner  of  the  visitors 
and  the  cordial  and  unconventional  way  in  which  every  one  who  approached 
them  was  received  and  entertained.  The  Princess  in  conversation  always 
referred  to  the  Queen  as  "  My  Mother,"  and  to  the  Marquis  as  "  My  Hus- 
band." 

His  Excellency  before  leaving  Ottawa  had  informed  himself  as  to  the 
unhappy  relations  of  the  province  with  the  Dominion  and  although  railway 
construction  on  the  Mainland  had  begun  under  favorable  auspices  the  Car- 
narvon Terms  had  not  been  carried  out,  and  the  |x>pular  discontent  on  the 
Island,  though  deep,  was  not  loud  as  on  the  previous  occasion.  During  the 
six  years  that  had  elapsed  since  the  visit  of  Lord  Dufferin,  Hon.  Mr.  Rich- 


138  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

ards  had  retired  from  Government  House  and  had  been  succeeded  by  Sen- 
ator Cornwall  as  Lieutenant  Governor.  To  the  local  government,  of  which 
Hon.  Mr.  Beaven  was  Premier,  Mr.  Walkem  having  been  elevated  to  the 
Supreme  Court  Bench,  the  Marquis  of  Lome  expressed  a  desire  to  mediate 
and,  if  possible,  restore  the  pleasant  relations  that  existed  between  the  fed- 
eral and  provincial  governments  during  the  first  few  years  after  the  entrance 
of  the  Province  into  the  Confederation.  The  presence  of  a  Conservative 
Government  at  Ottawa  was  believed  to  be  a  happy  augury  for  the  success  of 
the  peace  negotiations,  which  were  immediately  opened.  The  local  govern- 
ment was  found  to  be  well  disposed  towards  an  arrangement  that  would  end 
the  warfare,  and  the  Ottawa  Government  expressed  a  similar  disposition. 
The  Marquis  of  Lome  had  met  the  Hon.  Robt.  Dunsmuir,  then  member 
of  the  local  house  for  Nanaimo,  and  was  greatly  impressed  with  his  earnest- 
ness and  ability.  Mr.  Dunsmaiir,  besides,  was  a  man  of  great  wealth,  and 
possessed  a  progressive  nature.  He  had  discovered  and  developed  the  Wel- 
lington coal  mines  and  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  Carnarvon  Terms. 
Preliminaries  having  been  arranged,  the  Governor-General  addressed  him- 
self to  Mr.  Dunsmuir  as  the  one  man  in  the  province  who  might  be  willing 
to  take  the  contract  for  building  the  line  to  Nanaimo.  Mr.  Dunsmuir  recog- 
nized the  stupendous  character  of  the  undertaking.  In  his  earlier  inter- 
views with  the  Marquis,  he  absolutely  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
the  contract.  He  had  made  his  fortune,  he  said,  after  many  years  of  toil 
and  hardship,  and  why  should  he  imperil  it  by  entering  upon  an  enterprise 
which  presented  many  obstacles  to  success?  The  Marquis  persisted,  how- 
ever, and  at  last,  Mr.  Dunsmuir  consented  to  undertake  the  task,  but  only 
upon  terms  that  would  be  acceptable  to  Messrs.  Crocker  and  Huntington, 
of  the  Central  Pacific  syndicate  of  capitalists.  Those  gentlemen  consented 
to  take  half  interest  in  the  scheme  on  conditions  that  have  since  been  de- 
nounced as  onerous  and  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any  country,  though 
similar  terms  had  been  rejected  by  other  capitalists  in  the  United   States 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  139 

and  Great  Britain.  The  principal  features  of  the  concession  were:  Free 
gift  of  nearly  two  millions  of  acres  of  land  on  the  Island,  extending  from 
the  Straits  of  Fnca  to  Crown  Mountain  in  the  Comox  district.  This  land 
was  to  be  free  from  taxation  forever  or  until  alienated  by  the  Company. 
The  syndicate  also  asked  for  a  cash  subsidy  of  $750,cxx)  to  be  paid  upon 
the  completion  of  the  line,  which  would  be  some  eighty  miles  in  length.  The 
land  grant  carried  with  it  all  minerals,  fossils  and  substances  of  whatsoever 
nature  in,  on,  or  under  the  land.  It  was  contended  at  the  time  that  the 
grant  carried  with  it  the  precious  as  well  as  the  base  metals.  This  point  was 
subsequently  submitted  to  the  Privy  Council,  by  whom  it  was  dedided 
that  the  deed  that  conveyed  the  land  not  having  mentioned  the  precious 
metals  they  had  not  passed  with  the  land.  An  old  decision  of  Lord  Bacon's 
was  quoted  by  the  Privy  Council  to  show  that  the  royal  metals  (gold  and 
silver)  should  have  been  particularized,  and  that  the  words  "  all  minerals 
and  substances  of  whatever  nature  "  did  not  include  the  royal  metals.  Is 
it  not  strange  that  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  agreement  was 
made  with  the  syndicate  a  controversy  has  arisen  over  the  water  rights  con- 
tained in  the  belt,  and  that  the  Privy  Council  may  again  be  appealed  to  before 
a  satisfactory  settlement  can  be  reached? 

The  Marquis  of  Lome  and  the  Princess  remained  in  the  Province  until 
December,  1882,  a  period  of  about  three  months.  They  were  delighted  with 
the  climate,  the  people,  the  resources  and  the  scenery.  The  Princess  passed 
much  time  in  sketching  the  grand  views  that  can  be  seen  from  Government 
House  and  vicinity,  while  the  Marquis  visited  the  Interior  and  afterwards 
took  a  spin  on  the  Government  steamer  along  the  coasts  of  the  Island  and 
the  Mainland.  The  visitors  opened  agricultural  fairs  at  Victoria,  New 
Westminster,  and  Kamloops  and  were  prominent  at  several  private  func- 
tions. They  held  a  reception  in  the  Parliament  Buildings  and  gave  many 
dinner  parties,  winding  up  a  season  of  gaiety  with  a  ball  at  Government 
House.     It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  during  the  stay  of  the  Marquis  and  the 


140  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Princess  there  was  neither  wind  nor  rain.  Regular  Queen's  weather  set  in 
with  their  coming  and  continued  until  after  their  departure,  a  happy  augury 
of  a  peaceful   outcome  of  negotiations  with  both   governments. 

Upon  returning  to  Ottawa  the  Marquis  laid  before  the  Government  a 
draft  of  the  treaty  of  peace  which  he  had  provisionally  arranged  at  Victoria. 
His  Excellency  found  the  Ottawa  Government  anxious  for  a  settlement,  and 
willing  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  close  the  breach;  but  they  could  not  see 
how  the  cash  gift  of  $750,000  could  be  explained  to  the  satisfaction  of  their 
followers.  The  Smithe  Government  had  in  the  meanwhile  come  into  power 
at  Victoria,  and  after  long  negotiations  an  arrangement  was  made  which 
it  was  believed  could  be  carried  through  both  Parliaments.  It  was  agreed 
that  in  consideration  of  a  gift  of  $750,000  the  Province  should  cede  to  the 
Dominion  Government  two  million  acres  of  land  on  the  Island,  and  in  addi- 
tion convey  three  million  five  hundred  thousand  acres  in  rectangular  blocks 
in  the  Peace  River  country  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Province  and 
adjacent  to  the  Northwest  territory.  The  tract  was  valued  then  at  22  cents 
per  acre,  the  Dominion  Government,  in  return  for  these  concessions,  to  se- 
cure the  construction  of  the  Island  railway,  and  with  Imperial  assistance  to 
complete  the  dry-dock  at  Esquimalt.  This  dry-dock,  it  must  be  stated,  had 
been  commenced  as  a  provincial  undertaking  in  1874,  but  work  had  been 
suspended  for  want  of  funds.  The  late  Sir  Alexander  Campbell,  the  Min- 
ister of  Justice  of  the  Dominion  cabinet,  came  to  Victoria  and  had  many 
interviews  with  Mr.  Smithe  and  his  colleagues.  The  Settlement  Act  was 
framed  at  last  on  the  basis  above  stated.  At  their  succeeding  sessions  the 
respective  parliaments  ratified  the  agreements  and  both  railway  and  dry- 
dock  were  completed  in  due  course. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  at  what  figure  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment now  would  hold  the  three  million  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land 
that  were  conveyed  to  them  under  the  Settlement  Act  and  which  in  1884 
were  deemed  to  be  of  so  little  importance  that  22  cents  an  acre  were  consid- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  141 

ered  an  extreme  value.  The  opposition  at  Ottawa,  when  discussing  the  Act, 
declared  that  the  lands  were  perfectly  valueless,  being  part  of  the  "  sea  of 
mountains  "  which  Mr.  Blake  had  eloquently  but  incorrectly  named  in  his 
speech,  when  arguing  against  the  admission  of  British  Columbia  on  the 
original  terms.  In  the  British  Columbia  Legislature,  the  opposition  pro- 
tested against  the  grant  on  the  ground  that  they  were  of  immense  prospective 
value.  If  the  land  is  arable  its  present  value  to-day  is  $5  ,  per  acre,  or 
$17,500,000  for  the  whole  tract,  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  the  debt  of  the 
Province  and  leave  a  handsome  surplus  for  public  improvements. 

The  Settlement  Act  having  been  finally  passed  by  the  Ottawa  and  Vic- 
toria Parliaments  both  governments  proceeded  to  carry  out  its  provisions  in 
good  faith.  The  island  railway  was  built  by  Mr.  Dunsmuir  and  his  asso- 
ciates within  the  time  set  for  its  completion.  The  contract  for  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Esquimau  dry-dock  was  awarded  in  1885  to  Larkin  &  Connolly, 
and  the  work  was  finished  in  1888,  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner,  the  Im- 
perial Government  sharing  the  cost  of  the  construction  with  the  Dominion 
Government  in  consideration  of  Her  Majesty's  ships  being  docked  free  of 
charge.  The  building  of  these  works  inspired  the  people  of  the  island  with 
confidence  in  the  future  of  the  capital  city.  Population  poured  in,  business 
advanced,  and  real  estate  increased  in  value,  and  numerous  buildings  of  an 
important  character  were  undertaken.  The  period  from  1886  to  1892  was 
one  of  unexampled  prosperity  for  the  inhabitants  in  and  about  Victoria,  and 
generally  on  Vancouver  Island  and  throughout  the  province.  In  1889  a  land 
boom  set  in,  and  lasted  for  about  three  years.  Property  continued  to  rise, 
and  many  sales  were  effected  that  gratified  buyers  and  sellers.  Business  of 
the  ports  as  indicated  by  the  customs  house  was  doubled  and  every  branch 
of  industry  showed  a  vast  improvement  over  previous  years.  The  outlook 
was  favorable  everywhere,  and  the  construction  of  a  system  of  electric  tram- 
ways through  the  streets  of  Vancouver  and  Victoria,  with  connecting  lines 
to  the  naval  station  at-Esquimalt  and  New  Westminster  contributed  largely 


142  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

to  the  general  prosperity  and  added  to  the  value  of  realty,  increasing  public 
confidence  in  the  stability  and  permanency  of  the  towns  and  cities. 

Advent  of  the  C.  P.  R. 

In  1886  the  C.  P.  R.  reached  Port  Moody  and  a  considerable  town 
sprang  up  at  that  place  which  proved,  however,  to  be  only  a  temporary  ter- 
minus. In  July,  1886,  the  townsite  of  Vancouver  was  swept  as  clean  as 
the  back  of  a  man's  hand  by  a  fierce  fire  which  totally  destroyed  nearly  every 
building  there.  In  two  hours  the  flourishing  young  town  was  reduced  to  a 
pile  of  hot  ashes  and  glowing  embers.  But  the  pluck  of  the  people  was  un- 
daunted. Fire  might  destroy  their  town,  but  it  could  not  burn  out  their 
faith  in  its  destiny.  Before  the  ruins  had  cooled — at  daylight  next  morn- 
ing, in  fact — two  new  buildings  were  in  course  of  erection,  and  before  night- 
fall lots  for  the  accommodation  of  half  a  dozen  other  buildings  were  being 
cleared  of  ruins.  So  the  work  of  reconstruction  went  on,  till  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks  there  was  scarcely  a  scar  caused  by  the  late  conflagration 
visible. 

In  the  local  legislature  during  the  session  of  1887  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment introduced  a  bill  to  authorize  the  subsidizing  of  the  C.  P.  R.  with 
6,000  acres  of  crown  lands  in  consideration  of  their  extending  their  line  to 
Vancouver  and  making  that  city  the  final  termius  of  the  road.  The  proposi- 
tion was  vigorously  combated.  It  was  argued  that  the  company  in  its  own 
interests  must  bring  the  road  to  Vancouver  without  a  subsidy.  The  contest 
was  long  and  bitter,  but  the  Government  triumphed  with  the  modest  majority 
of  three,  and  the  bill  was  passed.  The  acres  conveyed  to  the  company  by 
the  bill  are  now  estimated  to  be  worth  several  millions  of  dollars.  Besides 
the  government  concession  the  railway  company  demanded  and  received  one- 
third  of  the  land  owned  by  the  syndicate  of  Victorians  who  had  bought  much 
of  the_ townsite  at  bottom  prices  and  were  holding  the  lots  for  an  enormous 
advance  on  cost  price  in  anticipation  of  railway  extension.     The  company 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  143 

lost  no  time  in  earning  their  subsidies  and  in  May,  1887,  the  scream  of  a 
locomotive  whistle  announced  the  arrival  of  the  first  through  train  from 
Montreal.  The  rejoicing  of  the  Vancouverians  was  great,  and  the  popular 
demonstrations  at  the  Terminal  city  were  such  as  befitted  the  great  occasion. 
But  while  Vancouver  rejoiced  the  people  of  Port  Moody  mourned  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes  over  the  destruction  of  their  hopes  and  the  certain  decay  of 
their  little  town,  which  had  just  begun  to  grow,  when  it  was  decided  to  carry 
the  line  eleven  miles  further  down  the  inlet. 

Later  Politics. 

The  political  changes  since  the  passing  of  the  Settlement  Act  have  been 
many.  Mr.  Smithe  held  office  from  1883  to  1887,  when  he  died,  just  after 
carrying  the  country  at  the  general  elections.  A.  E.  B.  Davie  succeeded  him 
as  Premier,  and  he  died  two  years  and  three  months  later.  John  Robson 
came  after  A.  E.  B.  Davie  as  Premier,  in  1889,  and  he  died  in  London,  Eng- 
land, in  1892.  Theodore  Davie  was  the  next  Premier.  In  March,  1895, 
he  resigned,  having  been  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  British  Q)lumbia  in  place 
of  Sir  Matthew  Baillie  Beghie,  who  had  died  a  short  time  before.  Dur- 
ing the  administration  of  Hon.  Theodore  Davie,  and  while  Hon.  Edgar 
Dewdney  was  Lieutenant  Governor  the  magnificent  buildings  at  James  Bay 
were  begun,  and  during  the  administration  of  Hon.  Mr.  Turner,  who  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Davie  as  Premier,  the  beautiful  pile  was  completed  and  opened 
with  great  pomp  and  ceremony  by  Lieutenant  Governor  Mclnnes.  Mr. 
Davie  did  not  long  enjoy  his  judicial  honors,  for  he  died  in  1898  after  an 
illness  of  a  few  months'  duration. 

In  the  fall  of  1898  a  remiarkable  political  event  startled  the  province  and 
the  Dominion.  Lieutenant  Governor  Mclnnes  dismissed  the  Turner  Gov- 
ernment while  the  result  of  the  general  elections  was  still  in  doubt,  and  while 
two  seats  remained  to  be  heard  from.  Then  he  called  on  the  former  Premier, 
Mr.  Beaven,  to  form  a  government;  but  after  a  week  of  industrious  effort, 


144  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

that  gentleman  announced  his  inability  to  form  a  cabinet,  and  Mr.  C.  A. 
Semlin,  leader  of  the  opposition  in  the  previous  house,  was  asked  to  try 
his  hand  at  cabinet  making.  Mr.  Semlin  succeeded  in  forming  a  govern- 
ment, and  the  house  met  the  following  winter,  with  Mr.  Joseph  Martin  hold- 
ing the  portfolio  of  Attorney  General.  In  July,  1899,  Mr.  Martin  resigned 
from  the  cabinet  at  the  request  of  the  Premier,  and  the  next  session  he  went 
into  opposition.  The  Semlin  government  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of 
one  in  the  session  of  1900,  and  the  Governor  just  before  prorogation  re- 
quested Mr.  Martin  to  form  a  ministry.  Mr.  Martin  consented,  although 
he  had  no  following  in  the  House.  When  the  Lieutenant  Governor  entered 
the  chamber  to  prorogue  it,  every  member  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Martin 
rose  and  left  the  hall  and  the  speech  from  the  throne  was  read  to  empty 
benches,  Mr.  Martin  alone  remaining.  The  scene  was  unequalled  in  a  Brit- 
ish legislature.  It  was  an  extreme  measure,  but  it  was  deemed  necessary  to 
mark  popular  disapprobation  of  the  course  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  in 
calling  upon  a  gentleman  with  not  one  political  friend  in  the  House.  After 
prorogation  Mr.  Martin  formed  a  government  of  five,  only  one  of  whom  had 
had  any  political  experience  and  that  in  another  province.  An  appeal  to 
the  country  followed  a  few  months  later,  and  jyir.  Martin  was  hopelessly 
defeated.  Mr.  James  Dunsmuir  was  then  requested  to  form  a  government. 
He  succeeded  in  getting  a  ministry  together  and  with  a  large  majority  of 
the  elected  members,  signed  a  round  robin  addressed  to  the  Governor  General 
asking  him  to  remove  Mr.  Mclnnes  from  office  in  consequence  of  his  un- 
constitutional act  in  calling  upon  Mr.  Martin  to  form  a  government.  The 
Lieutenant  Governor  was  dismissed  from  office  on  the  21st  of  June,  1900. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Henri  Joly  de  Lotbiniere.  After  the  session  of 
1902,  Mr.  Dunsmuir  resigned  and  the  Lieutenant  Governor  called  upon  Col. 
Prior,  who,  meanwhile,  had  resigned  from  the  Dominion  House  of  Com- 
mons, to  form  a  government.  Col.  Prior  having  been  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  Victoria  city  representation  caused  by  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Turner. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  145 

He  succeeded  in  forming  a  ministry,  but  after  a  turbulent  session  he  was 
dismissed  from  office  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor.  Hon.  R.  McBride  was 
next  asked  to  form  a  government.  By  this  time  party  Hnes  had  been  de- 
cided upon  for  the  first  time  in  provincial  politics.  Mr.  McBride  formed  a 
Gjnservative  Government,  and  was  returned  to  the  house  with  a  working 
majority.     He  and  his  ministers  are  still  in  power. 


146  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MAINLAND. 

The  history  of  the  Mainland  of  British  Columbia  began  with  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  1857.  Prior  to  that  it  was  part  of  the  Indian  Territory 
of  British  North  America,  an  area  of  uncertain  metes  and  bounds  over  which 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  exclusive  trading  rights,  which  had  been 
exercised  by  that  corporation  in  what  is  now  the  province  of  British  Colum- 
bia since  the  year  1821,  the  date  of  the  union  of  the  rival  fur  companies. 
Shortly  after  this  the  company  surrendered  the  grant  of  1821  to  the  Imperial 
Crown,  and  obtained  a  new  crown  grant  on  the  30th  of  May,  1838,  of  the 
exclusive  trade  with  the  Indians  of  all  those  parts  of  North  America  to  the 
northward  of  the  lands  and  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States  of 
America,  not  forming  part  of  any  British  provinces  or  of  any  lands  or  terri- 
tories belonging  to  the  United  States  or  to  any  European  government  or 
power,  but  subject  to  certain  provisions.  These  provisions  referred  to  the 
protection  of  the  Indians — ^the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic  and  the  moral 
and  religious  improvement  of  the  natives,  to  certain  regulations  as  to  trade 
monopoly  by  the  company,  to  the  right  of  the  Crown  to  the  establishment  of 
colonies  or  provinces,  or  the  annexation  of  any  part  of  the  territory  to  exist- 
ing provinces  or  colonies,  or  for  the  erection  of  any  form  of  civil  government 
that  the  Crown  might  deem  necessary  6r  desirable ;  and  also  the  power  of 
the  Crown  to  revoke  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
grant  within  the  territory  designated. 

In  accordance  with  the  rights  under  the  charter  in  question  the  com- 
pany had  established  forts  or  trading  posts  at  a  number  of  points  in  the  in- 
terior and  on  the  coast  of  the  mainland.     Among  these  were:     Alexandria 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  147 

and  Chilcotin  in  1821,  Babine  in  1822,  Langley  in  1827,  (old)  Fort  Simp- 
son in  1831,  Simpson  in  1834,  Dease  in  1838,  Stickine  about  the  same  time, 
Hope  in  1847  ^"^  Yale  in  1848.  Kamloops  and  a  number  of  other  posts 
had  been  established  prior  to  that  by  the  Northwest  Company,  which  were 
acquired  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  by  the  terms  of  the  union  in  1821. 
Through  all  this  vast  territory  the  Company  had  exercised  practical  and  un- 
disputed sovereignty,  and  established  a  wonderful  system  of  communication, 
whereby  the  product  of  the  chase  in  furs  obtained  by  purchase  from  the  In- 
dians were  conveyed  to  the  company's  depots  for  final  export  to  Lx)ndon  by 
ships,  and  the  necessary  supplies  for  trading  purposes  and  the  use  of  the 
servants  of  the  company  were  returned.  With  the  discovery  of  gold  and  the 
subsequent  rush  of  the  miners  from  all  parts  of  the  world  the  sovereignty  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  came  suddenly  to  an  end,  and  the  crown  exer- 
cised its  power  to  revoke  the  charter  of  rights  to  the  company,  and  to  estab- 
lish colonies,  and  erect  civil  government  throughout  their  extent.  In  1849, 
the  Crown  had  erected  Vancouver  Island  into  a  colony,  with  provision  for  at 
least  a  semblance  of  government,  although  the  grant  of  the  island  to  the  com- 
pany had  been  made  on  conditions  of  colonization.  It  was  an  empire  within 
an  empire,  so  to  speak.  That  anomalous  relation  came  to  an  end,  ten  years 
later,  as  the  result  of  an  investigation  before  a  select  committee  of  the  Im- 
perial House  of  Commons.  The  separate  colony  of  British  Columbia  came 
into  existence  on  the  19th  of  November,  1858,  with  James  Douglas,  after- 
wards Sir  James,  as  governor.  In  the  interim,  that  is,  between  the  time  of 
the  rush  of  miners  up  the  Fraser  and  the  formation  of  the  colony,  he  had  gov- 
erned the  country  by  proclamation,  without  authority,  it  is  true,  as  he  had 
no  jurisdiction  beyond  the  Island  of  Vancouver,  but  it  was  not  a  time  to 
cavil  about  nice  distinctions;  and  the  Colonial  Secretary,  while  cognizant  of 
the  irregularity  of  the  proceedings,  approved  the  action  he  had  taken  to  pre- 
serve order  and  establish  a  temporary  form  of  government. 


us  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Governor  Douglas's  Instructions. 

Lord  Lytton,  acting  for  the  Imperial  Government,  lost  no  time  in  in- 
structing Douglas  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue,  and  the  wisdom  of  his 
suggestions  will  be  recognized  today  almost  as  fully  as  at  the  time  when  they 
were  penned.  They  bear  all  the  ear  marks  of  enlightened  statesmanship  for 
which  His  Lordship  was  distinguished,  and  were  a  constitution  for  the  new 
colony  in  embryo,  and  a  charter  of  liberties  for  the  new  commonwealth  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  the  extremest  outpost  of  the  British  Empire.  A  few  ex- 
tracts from  these  dispatches  will  best  convey  an  understanding  of  the  spirit 
in  which  they  were  framed,  and  which  wisely  actuated  the  British  authorities 
at  the  time,  so  different  from  the  policy  which  had  emanated  from  Downing 
Street  on  many  previous  occasions  when  dealing  with  colonies  in  British 
America.  Writing  on  the  i6th  of  July  to  Governor  Douglas,  Lord  Lytton 
advised  him  of  the  steps  that  were  being  taken  to  organize  a  colony  and 
establish  civil  government.  Among  the  instructions  to  Douglas  were  the 
following : 

"  It  is  proposed  to  appoint  a  governor  with  a  salary  of  at  least  £i,ooo 
per  annum,  to  be  paid  for  the  present  out  of  a  parliamentary  vote.  And  it 
is  the  desire  of  Her  Majesty's  Government  to  appoint  you  at  once  to  that 
office,  on  the  usual  terms  of  a  governor's  appointment,  namely,  for  six  years 
at  least,  your  administration  of  that  office  continuing  to  merit  the  approval 
of  Her  Majesty's  Government;  this  government  to  be  held,  for  the  present, 
in  conjunction  with  your  separate  commission  as  governor  of  Vancouver 
Island.  With  regard  to  the  latter,  I  am  not  at  this  moment  able  to  specify 
the  terms  as  to  the  salary  on  which  it  may  ultimately  be  held,  but  your  in- 
terests would,  of  course,  not  be  overlooked. 

"  The  legal  connection  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  with  Vancouver 
Island  will  shortly  be  severed  by  the  resumption  by  the  crown  of  the  grant 
of  the  soil.     And  their  legal  rights  on  the  continent  opposite  terminate  in 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  149 

May  next,  at  all  events  by  the  expiry  of  her  license,  if  Her  Majesty  should 
not  be  advised  to  terminate  it  sooner  on  the  establishment  of  the  new  colony. 

"  It  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  their  view,  that  the  administration  of 
the  government,  both  of  Vancouver  Island  and  of  the  mainland  opposite, 
should  be  entrusted  to  an  officer  or  officers  entirely  unconnected  with  the 
company.  I  wish,  therefore,  for  your  distinct  statement,  as  early  as  you 
can  afford  it,  whether  you  are  willing,  on  receiving  the  appointment  which 
is  thus  offered  to  you,  to  give  up,  within  as  short  a  time  as  may  be  practicable, 
all  connection  which  you  may  have  with  that  company,  either  as  its  servant, 
or  a  shareholder,  or  in  any  other  capacity. 

"  I  make  this  proposal  without  discussing  at  present  the  nature  and  ex- 
tent of  your  actual  connections  with  that  company,  but  with  the  acquiescence 
of  the  governor  of  the  company,  who  has  seen  this  dispatch.  In  the  mean- 
time, and  awaiting  your  answer,  it  is  my  present  intention  (liable  only  to  be 
altered  by  what  may  transpire  in  future  advices  from  yourself)  to  issue  a 
commission  to  you  as  governor ;  but  you  will  fully  understand  that  unless 
you  are  prepared  to  assure  me  that  all  connection  between  yourself  and  the 
company  is  terminated,  or  in  course  of  speedy  termination,  you  will  be  re- 
lieved by  the  appointment  of  a  successor. 

"  I  make  this  proposal  briefly  and  without  unnecessary  preface,  being 
lully  assured  that  you  will  understand,  on  the  one  hand,  that  Her  Majesty's 
Government  are  very  anxious  to  secure  your  services,  if  practicable;  but  on 
the  other  that  it  is  quite  impossible  that  you  should  continue  to  serve  at  once 
the  Crown  and  the  company,  when  their  respective  rights  and  interests  may 
possibly  diverge,  and  when,  at  all  events,  public  opinion  will  not  allow  of 
such  a  connection." 


"  As  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance,  both  to  Her  Majesty's 
Government  and  yourself,  that  there  should  be  a  perfect  understanding  as 
to  the  terms  on  which,  if  you  should  so  decide,  you  would  assume  office  un- 


150  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

der  Imperial  authority.  I  think  it  right  to  state,  as  it  was  omitted  on  the  last 
occasion,  that  beside  relinquishing,  directly  or  indirectly,  all  connection  with 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  it  will  be  indispensable  to  apply  that  condition 
equally  to  any  interest  you  may  possess  in  the  Puget  Sound  Company. 

"  It  is  most  probable  that  you  have  understood  the  offer  contained  in 
my  confidential  dispatch  of  the  i6th  instant  in  that  sense,  but  I  think  it  bet- 
ter now  to  guard  against  any  possible  misconception  on  the  subject  by  this 
additional  explanation.  It  is  due  to  you  to  add  that  if,  after  reflection,  you 
should  entertain  the  persuasion  that  it  will  either  not  conduce  to  the  public 
interests  or  your  own  to  exchange  your  present  position  for  that  of  governor 
of  British  Columbia,  the  ability  which  you  have  displayed  whilst  holding 
the  office  of  gx)vernor  of  Vancouver  Island  will  not  escape  the  recollection 
of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  should  it  be  your  wish,  on  the  expiration  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  license  next  year,  to  enter  into  the  service  of 
the  Crown  in  the  colonies." 


"  I  need  hardly  observe  that  British  Columbia,  for  by  that  name  the 
Queen  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  observe  that  the  country  should  be 
known,  stands  on  a  very  different  footing  from  many  of  our  colonial  settle- 
ments. Tliey  possess  the  chief  elements  of  success  in  lands,  which  af- 
forded safe  though  not  very  immediate  sources  of  prosperity.  This  territory 
combines  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  advantage  of  fertile  lands,  fine  timber, 
adjacent  harbors,  rivers,  together  with  rich  mineral  products.  These  last, 
which  have  led  to  the  large  immigration  of  which  all  accounts  speak,  furnish 
the  government  with  the  means  of  raising  a  revenue  which  will  at  once  de- 
fray the  expenses  of  an  establishment.  *  *  *  ]y[y  own  views  lead  me  to 
think  that  moderate  duties  on  beer,  wine,  spirits  and  other  articles  usually  sub- 
ject to  taxation  would  be  preferable  to  the  imposition  of  licenses ;  and  I  con- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  151 

fidently  expect  that  from  these  sources  a  large  and  an   immediate  revenue 
may  be  derived. 

"  The  disposal  also  of  public  lands,  and  especially  of  town  lots,  for 
which  I  am  led  to  believe  there  will  be  a  great  demand,  will  afford  a  rapid 
means  of  obtaining  funds  applicable  to  the  general  purposes  of  the  colony. 
You  will,  probably,  at  an  early  period  take  steps  for  deciding  upon  a  site  for 
a  seaport  town.  But  the  question  of  how  a  revenue  can  best  be  raised  in 
this  new  country  depends  so  much  on  local  circumstances,  upon  which  you 
possess  such  superior  means  of  forming  a  judgment  to  myself,  that  I  neces- 
sarily, but  at  the  same  time  willingly,  leave  the  decision  upon  it  to  you,  with 
the  remark  that  it  will  be  prudent  on  your  part  and  expedient  to  ascertain 
the  general  sense  of  the  immigrants  upon  a  matter  of  so  much  importance. 
Before  I  leave  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  must  state  that  whilst  the  Imperial 
Parliament  will  cheerfully  lend  its  assistance  in  the  early  establishment  of 
this  new  colony,  it  will  exj^ect  that  the  colony  will  be  self-supporting  as 
soon  as  possible.  You  will  keep  steadily  in  view  that  it  is  the  desire  of  this 
country  that  representative  institutions  and  self-government  should  prevail 
in  British  Columbia,  when  by  the  growth  of  a  fixed  population,  materials  for 
these  institutions  shall  be  known  to  exist;  and  to  that  object,  you  must  from 
the  commencement  aim  and  shape  all  your  policy. 

"  A  party  of  Royal  Engineers  will  be  dispatched  to  the  colony  im- 
mediately. It  will  devolve  upon  them  to  survey  those  parts  of  the  country 
which  may  be  considered  most  suitable  for  settlement,  to  mark  out  allotments 
of  land  for  public  purposes,  to  suggest  a  site  for  the  seat  of  government,  to 
point  out  where  roads  should  be  made,  and  to  render  you  such  assistance 
as  may  be  in  their  power,  on  the  distinct  understanding,  however,  that  this 
force  .is  to  be  maintained  at  the  Imperial  cost  for  only  a  limited  period,  and 
that  if  required  afterwards,  the  colony  will  have  to  defray  the  expense  there- 
of. I  have  to  add,  that  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  will  be  reasonable  and 
proper  that  the  expense  of  the  survey  of  all  allotments  of  land  to  private  in- 


152  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

dividuals  should  be  included  in  the  price  which  the  purchaser  will  have  to 
pay  for  his  property. 

"  I  shall  endeavor  to  secure,  if  possible,  the  services  of  an  officer  in  com- 
mand of  the  engineers  who  will  be  capable  of  reporting  on  the  value  of  the 
mineral  resources.  This  force  is  sent  for  scientific  and  practical  purposes, 
and  not  solely  for  military  objects.  As  little  display  as  possible  should, 
therefore,  be  made  of  it.  Its  mere  appearance,  if  prominently  obtruded, 
might  serve  to  irritate,  rather  than  appease  the  mixed  population  which  will 
Idc  collected  in  British  Columbia.  It  should  be  remembered  that  your  real 
strength  lies  in  the  conviction  of  the  immigrants  that  their  interests  are 
identical  with  those  of  the  government,  which  should  be  carried  on  in  har- 
mony with,  and  by  means  of  the  people  of  the  country. 

"  As  connected  with  this  subject,  it  may  be  convenient  to  you  to  know 
that  I  contemplate  sending  out  an  experienced  inspector  of  police  to  assist 
you  in  the  formation  of  a  police  force.  You  should  consequently  lose  no 
time  in  considering  how  that  force  may  be  org-anized.  It  must  be  derived 
from  people  on  the  spot,  who  will  understand  that  for  their  preservation  from 
internal  disturbances,  they  must  rely  solely  on  themselves,  and  not  on  the 
military.  I  cannot  permit  myself  to  doubt,  that  in  a  matter  so  essential  to 
the  common  security  of  all,  you  will  meet  with  the  ready  concurrence  of 
the  community,  and  that  you  will  act  for  their  interests  in  a  manner  which 
shall  be  proper  and  conformable  to  their  general  sentiments. 

"  I  have  to  enjoin  upon  you  to  consider  the  best  and  most  humane  means 
of  dealing  with  the  native  Indians.  The  feelings  of  this  country  would  be 
strongly  opposed  to  the  adoption  of  any  arbitrary  or  oppressive  measures 
towards  them.  At  this  distance,  and  with  the  imperfect  means  of  knowledge 
which  I  possess,  I  am  reluctant  to  offer,  as  yet,  any  suggestion  as  to  the 
prevention  of  affrays  between  the  Indians  and  the  immigrants.  This  ques- 
tion is  of  so  local  a  character  that  it  must  be  solved  by  your  knowledge  and 
experience,  and  I  commit  it  to  you,  in  the  full  persuasion  that  you  will  pay 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  153 

every  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  natives  which  an  enlightened  humanity 
can  suggest.  Let  me  not  omit  to  observe,  that  it  should  be  an  invariable 
condition,  in  all  bargains  or  treaties  with  the  natives  for  the  cession  of  lands 
possessed  by  them,  that  subsistence  should  be  supplied  to  them  in  some  other 
shape,  and  above  all,  that  it  is  the  earnest  desire  of  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment that  your  early  attention  should  be  given  to  the  best  means  of  diffusing 
the  blessings  of  the  Christian  religion  and  of  civilization  among  the  natives. 
"  I  wish  to  impress  upon  you  the  necessity  of  seeking,  by  all  legitimate 
means,  to  secure  the  confidence  and  good-will  of  the  immigrants,  and  to  ex- 
hibit no  jealousy  whatever  of  Americans  or  other  foreigners  who  may  enter 
the  country.  You  will  remember  that  the  country  is  destined  for  free  in- 
stitutions at  the  earliest  moment.  In  the  meanwhile  it  will  be  advisable 
for  you  to  ascertain  what  Americans  resorting  to  the  diggings  enjoy  the 
most  influence  or  popular  esteem,  and  you  should  open  with  them  a  frank 
and  friendly  communication  as  to  the  best  means  of  preserving  order  and 
securing  the  interests  and  peace  of  the  colony.  It  may  be  deserving  of  your 
consideration  whether  there  may  not  be  found  already  amongst  the  immi- 
grants, both  British  and  foreign,  some  persons  whom'  you  could  immediately 
form  into  a  council  of  advice ;  men  whom,  if  an  elective  council  were  ultimate- 
ly established  in  the  colony,  the  immigrants  themselves  would  be  likely  to 
elect,  and  who  might  be  able  to  render  you  valuable  assistance  until  the  ma- 
chinery of  government  were  perfected,  and  you  were  in  possession  of  the 
instructions  which  the  Queen  will  be  pleased  to  issue  for  your  guidance.  I 
shall  hope  to  receive,  at  an  early  period,  your  views  on  these  and  other  topics 
of  importance  which  are  likely  to  present  themselves  for  your  decision  in 
the  difficult  circum.stances  in  which  you  are  placed,  and  I  request  you  to  be 
assured,  on  the  part  of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  that  I  shall  be  most  ready 
to  afford  you  every  assistance  in  my  power." 


154  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

"  There  has  not  been  time  to  furnish  you  by  this  mail  with  the  order- 
in-council,  commission,  and  instruction  to  yourself  as  governor,  which  are 
necessary  in  order  to  complete  your  legal  powers.  You  will,  nevertheless, 
continue  to  act  during  the  brief  interval  before  their  arrival  as  you  have  hith- 
erto done,  as  the  authorized  representative  of  Her  Majesty's  Government  in 
tlie  territory  of  British  Columbia,  and  take,  without  hesitation,  such  steps  as 
you  may  deem  absolutely  necessary  for  the  government  of  the  territory,  and 
as  are  not  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  British  law;  but  you  will  do  so  in 
conformity  with  the  directions  which  I  transmit  to  you  on  several  subjects 
by  my  dispatches  of  even  date  herewith,  and  in  such  others  as  you  may  re- 
ceive from  me." 


"  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  very  important  series  of  dispatches  (num- 
bers 24  to  29  inclusive,  from  June  loth  to  July  ist,  1858),  showing  the 
manner  in  which  you  have  continued  to  administer  the  government  of  the 
territory  in  which  the  recent  discoveries  of  gold  have  taken  place,  and  de- 
tailing the  extraordinary  course  of  events  in  that  quarter.  Her  Majesty's 
Government  feel  that  the  difficulties  of  your  position  are  such  as  courage, 
judgment  and  familiarity  with  the  resources  of  the  country  and  character 
of  the  people  can  alone  overcome.  They  feel  also  that  minute  instructions 
conveyed  from  this  distance,  and  founded  on  an  imperfect  knowledge,  are 
very  liable  to  error  and  misunderstanding.  On  some  points,  however,  you 
have  yourself  asked  for  approval  and  instructions;  on  others  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  views  of  Her  Majesty's  Government  should  be  made  clear 
to  you. 

"  As  to  the  steps  which  you  have  already  taken,  I  approve  of  the  appoint- 
ments which  you  have  made  and  reported  of  revenue  officers,  Mr.  Hicks  and 
Mr.  Travaillot,  of  Mr.  Perrier  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  of  Mr.  Young  as 
gold  commissioner.  I  approve,  also,  as  a  temporary  measure,  of  the  steps 
which  you  have  taken  in  regard  to  the  surveying  department,  but  I  have  it  in 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  155 

contemplation  to  send  to  the  colony  a  head  of  that  department  from  England. 

"  I  propose  selecting  in  this  country  some  person  for  the  office  of  collect- 
or of  customs,  and  shall  send  you  also,  at  the  earliest  moment,  an  officer 
authorized  to  act  as  judge,  and  who,  I  trust,  as  the  colony  increases  in  im- 
portance, may  be  found  competent  to  fill  with  credit  and  weight  the  situation 
of  chief  justice.  I  await  your  intimations  as  to  the  wants  and  means  of  the 
colony,  in  this  sudden  rise  of  social  institutions  in  a  country  hitherto  so  wild, 
in  order  to  select  such  law  advisers  as  you  may  deem  the  condition  and  prog- 
ress of  immigration  more  immediately  require.  And  it  is  my  wish  that 
all  legal  authorities  connected  with  the  government  should  be  sent  from  home, 
and  thus  freed  from  every  suspicion  of  local  partialities,  prejudices  and  in- 
terests. 

''  I  highly  approve  of  the  steps  you  have  taken,  as  reported  by  yourself, 
with  regard  to  the  Indians.  It  is  in  the  execution  of  this  very  delicate  and 
important  portion  of  your  duties  that  Her  Majesty's  Government  especially 
rely  on  your  knowledge  and  experience  obtained  in  your  long  service  under 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  You  may  in  return  rely  on  their  support  in  the 
execution  of  such  reasonable  measures  as  you  may  devise  for  the  protection 
of  the  natives,  the  regulation  of  their  intercourse  with  the  whites,  and  when- 
ever such  work  may  be  commenced,  their  civilization.  In  what  way  the  fur 
trade  with  the  Indians  may  henceforth  be  carried  on  with  the  most  safety, 
and  with  due  care  to  save  them  from  the  demoralizing  bribes  of  ardent  spirits, 
I  desire  to  know  your  views  before  you  make  any  fixed  regulations.  No 
regulations  giving  the  slightest  preference  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
will  in  future  be  admissible,  but  possibly,  with  the  assent  of  the  whole  com- 
munity, licenses  for  Indian  trade,  impartially  given  to  all  who  would  embark 
in  it,  might  be  a  prudent  and  not  unpopular  precaution. 

"  I  approve  of  the  measures  which  you  have  taken  for  raising  a  revenue 
by  customs,  and  authorize  their  continuance.  I  approve  also  of  your  con- 
tinuing to  levy  license  fees  for  mining  purposes,  requesting  you,  however, 


156  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

to  adapt  the  scale  of  these  fees  to  the  general  acquiescence  of  adventurers, 
and  leaving  it  to  your  judgment  to  change  this  mode  of  taxation  (as,  for  in- 
stance, into  an  export  duty),  if  it  shall  appear  on  experience  to  be  inadvis- 
able to  continue  it.  But  on  this  head  I  must  give  you  certain  cautions.  In 
the  first  place,  no  distinction  must  be  made  between  foreigners  and  British 
subjects  as  to  the  amount  per  head  of  the  license  fee  required  (nor  am  I  aware 
that  you  have  proposed  to  do  so).  In  the  second  place,  it  must  be  made 
perfectly  clear  to  everyone,  that  this  license  fee  is  levied,  not  in  regard  to 
any  supposed  rights  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but  simply  in  virtue  of 
the  prerogative  of  the  Crown  (now  confirmed  by  the  Act  of  Parliament 
transmitted  to  you,  if  this  was  necessary)  to  raise  revenue  as  it  thinks  proper, 
in  return  for  the  permission  to  derive  profits  from  the  minerals  on  Crown 
lands. 

"  Further,  with  regard  to  these  supposed  rights  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  I  must  refer  you,  in  even  stronger  terms,  to  the  cautions  already 
conveyed  to  you  by  my  former  dispatches.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
have  hitherto  had  an  exclusive  right  to  trade  with  Indians  in  the  Fraser  River 
territory,  but  they  have  had  no  other  right  whatever.  They  have  had  no 
rights  to  exclude  strangers.  They  have  had  no  rights  of  government,  or  of 
occupation  of  the  soil.  They  have  had  no  right  to  prevent  or  interfere  with 
any  kind  of  trading,  except  with  the  Indians  alone.  But  to  render  all  mis- 
conceptions impossible.  Her  Majesty's  Government  has  determined  on  re- 
voking the  company's  license  (which  would  itself  have  expired  in  next  May) 
as  regards  British  Columbia  being  fully  authorized  to  do  so,  by  the  terms  of 
the  license  itself,  whenever  a  new  colony  is  constituted. 

"  The  company's  private  property  will  be  protected,  in  common  with 
that  of  all  Her  Majesty's  subjects,  but  they  have  no  claim  whatever  for  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  of  their  exclusive  trade,  which  they  only  possessed  sub- 
ject to  the  right  of  revocation.  The  instrument  formally  revokyig  the 
license  will  shortly  be  forwarded  to  you.     *     *     *     ^^^  immense  resources 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  157 

which  the  information  which  reaches  England  every  day  and  is  confirmed 
with  such  authority  by  your  last  dispatch,  assures  me  that  the  colony  pos- 
sesses, and  the  facility  for  immediate  use  of  those  resources  for  the  purposes 
of  revenue,  will  at  once  free  the  Mother  Country  from  those  expenses  which 
are  adverse  to  the  policy  of  all  healthful  colonization.  *  *  *  The  most 
important  works  to  which,  the  local  revenue  can  be  applied  seem  to  be  police, 
public  works  to  facilitate  landing  and  traveling,  payment  of  the  absolutely 
necessary  officers,  and  above  all,  surveying.  But  your  own  local  judgment 
must  mainly  decide.  You  will  render  accurate  accounts  to  me  both  of  re- 
ceipts and  expenditure,  and  you  will  probably  find  it  necessary  shortly  to  ap- 
point a  treasurer,  which  will  be  a  provisional  appointment. 

"  You  are  fully  authorized  to  take  such  measures  as  you  can  for  the 
transmission  of  letter  and  levying  postage.  It  appears  by  your  despatch  that 
the  staff  of  surveyors  you  have  engaged  are  at  present  employed  on  Van- 
couver Island,  the  soil  of  which  is  as  yet  held  under  the  expiring  license 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  but  it  is  British  Columbia  which  now  de- 
mands and  indeed  may  almost  absorb  the  immediate  cares  of  its  governor, 
and  your  surveyor  may  at  once  prepare  the  way  for  the  arrival  of  the  sur- 
veyor-general appointed  from  hence,  and  of  the  sappers  and  miners  who 
will  be  under  his  orders. 

"  I  now  come  to  the  important  subject  of  future  government.  It  is 
p<..ssible  (although  on  this  point  I  am  singularly  without  information)  that 
the  operations  of  the  gold  diggers  will  be  to  a  considerable  extent  suspended 
during  winter,  and  that  you  will  therefore  have  some  amount  of  leisure  to 
consider  the  permanent  prospects  of  the  colony  and  the  best  mode  of  admin- 
istering its  affairs. 

"  You  will  be  empowered  both  to  govern  and  to  legislate  of  your  own 
authority;  but  you  will  distinctly  understand  that  this  is  a  temporary  meas- 
ure only.  It  is  the  anxious  wish  of  her  Majesty's  Government  that  popular 
institutions,  without  which  they  are  convinced  peace  and  order  cannot  long 


158  .  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

prevail,  should  be  established  with  as  little  delay  as  practicable;  and  until 
an  Assembly  can  be  organized  (which  may  be  whenever  a  permanent  popu- 
lation, however  small,  is  established  on  the  soil),  I  think,  as  I  have  already 
stated  in  a  former  despatch,  that  your  best  course  will  protebly  be  to  form 
some  kind  of  temporary  council,  calling  in  this  manner  to  your  aid  such 
persons  as  the  miners  themselves  may  place  confidence  in. 

"  You  will  receive  additional  directions  along  with  your  commission, 
when  forwarded  to  you;  and  I  have  embodied  in  a  separate  despatch  those 
regarding  the  very  important  question  of  the  disposal  of  land. 

"  Aware  of  the  immediate  demand  on  your  time  and  thoughts  connected 
with  the  pressing  question  of  immigration  to  the  gold  mines,  I  do  not  wish 
to  add  unnecessarily  to  the  burden  of  duties  so  onerous;  but  as  yet,  our 
Department  has  been  left  singularly  in  ignorance  of  much  that  should  enter 
into  considerations  of  general  policy,  and  on  which  non-official  opinions  are 
constantly  volunteered.  Probably,  amongst  the  persons  you  are  now  em- 
ploying, and  in  whose  knowledge  and  exactitude  you  can  confide,  you  might 
find  someone  capable  of  assisting,  under  your  superintendence,  in  furnish- 
ing me,  as  early  as  possible,  with  a  report  of  the  general  capacities  of  the 
harbors  of  Vancouver, — of  their  advantages  and  defects;  of  the  mouth  of 
Fraser  River,  as  the  site  of  the  entry  into  British  Columbia,  apart  from  the 
island;  of  the  probabilities  of  a  coal  superior  for  steam  purposes  to  that  oi 
the  island,  which  may  be  found  in  the  mainland  of  British  Columbia;  and 
such  other  information  as  may  guide  the  British  Government  to  the  best 
and  readiest  means  of  developing  the  various  and  the  differing  resources 
which  have  so  strangely  been  concealed  for  ages,  which  are  now  so  sud- 
denly brought  to  light,  and  which  may  be  destined  to  effect,  at  no  very 
distant  period,  a  marked  and  permanent  change  in  the  commerce  and  navi- 
gation of  the  known  world.  The  officers  now  engaged  in  the  maritime  sur- 
vey will  probably  render  great  assistance  to  yourself  and  to  her  Majesty's 
Government  in  this  particular." 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  159 

"  With  regard  to  the  very  important  subject  of  the  disposal  of  land, 
you  are  authorized  to  sell  land  merely  wanted  for  agricultural  purposes, 
whenever  a  demand  for  it  shall  arise,  at  such  upset  price  as  you  may  think 
advisable.  I  believe  that  a  relatively  high  upset  price  has  many  advantages ; 
but  your  course  must,  in  some  degree,  be  guided  by  the  price  at  which  such 
land  is  selling  in  neighboring  American  territories.  But  with  regard  to 
land  wanted  for  town  purposes  (to  which  speculation  is  almost  certain  to 
direct  itself  in  the  first  instance),  I  cannot  caution  you  too  strongly  against 
allowing  it  to  be  disposed  of  at  too  low  a  sum.  An  upset  price  of  at  least 
£i  per  acre  is,  in  my  opinion,  absolutely  required,  in  order  that  the  local 
government  may  in  some  degree  participate  in  the  profit  of  the  probable 
sales,  and  that  mere  land-jobbing  may  be  in  some  degree  checked.  When- 
ever a  free  legislature  is  assembled,  it  will  be  one  of  its  duties  to  make 
further  provision  on  this  head. 

"  To  open  land  for  settlement  gradually ;  not  to  sell  beyond  the  limits 
of  what  is  either  surveyed  or  ready  for  immediate  survey,  and  to  prevent, 
as  far  as  in  you  lies,  squatting  on  unsold  land. 

"  To  keep  a  separate  account  of  all  revenue  to  be  derived  from  the 
sale  of  land,  applying  it  to  the  purposes,  for  the  present,  of  survey  and 
communication,  which,  indeed,  should  be  the  first  charge  on  land  revenue; 
and  you  will  of  course  remember  that  this  will  include  the  expense  of  the 
survey  party  (viz.,  sappers  and  miners)  now  sent  out.  I  shall  be  anxious 
to  receive  such  accounts  at  the  earliest  period  at  which  they  can  be  fur- 
nished. 

"  Foreigners,  as  such,  are  not  entitled  to  grants  of  waste  land  of  the 
Crown  in  British  colonies.  But  it  is  the  strong  desire  of  her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment to  attach  to  this  territory  all  peaceful  settlers,  without  regard  to 
nation.  Naturalization  should,  therefore,  be  granted  to  all  who  desire  it, 
and  are  not  disqualified  by  special  causes,  and  with  naturalization  the  right 
of  acquiring  Crown  land  should  follow. 


160  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

"  You  will  pardon  me  if  I  enjoin  on  you,  as  imperative,  the  most  diligent 
care  that  in  the  sales  of  land  there  should  not  be  the  slightest  cause  to  im- 
pute a  desire  to  show  favor  to  the  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
Parliament  will  watch  with  jealousy  every  proceeding  connected  with  such 
sales;  and  I  shall  rely  upon  you  to  take  every  precaution  which  not  only 
impartial  probity  but  deliberate  prudence  can  suggest,  that  there  shall  be 
no  handle  given  for  a  charge,  I  will  not  say  of  favor,  but  of  indifference  or 
apathy  to  the  various  kinds  of  land-jobbing,  either  to  benefit  favored  indi- 
viduals or  to  cheat  the  land  revenue,  which  are  of  so  frequent  occurrence 
at  the  outset  of  colonization,  and  which  it  is  the  duty  of  her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment, so  far  as  lies  in  them,  to  repress." 


"  I  need  scarcely  observe  to  you  that  the  object  for  which  this  officer 
and  his  party  have  been  despatched  to  British  Columbia  is  for  the  exclusive 
service  of  that  colony.  You  will,  therefore,  afford  him  every  assistance  in 
your  power  for  enabling  him  to  commence  immediately  such  operations  in 
it  as  shall  appear  to  him  to  be  necessary,  in  anticipation  of  his  commanding 
officer,  Colonel  Moody,  R.  E.,  who  will  follow  him  with  as  much  rapidity 
as  practicable.  And  I  trust  that,  if  Captain  Parsons  should  require  the 
temporary  occupation  for  his  party  of  the  trading-posts  up  the  country, 
which  belong  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  you  will  take  measures  for 
affording  him  such  accommodation." 


"  With  these  few  observations,  I  leave  with  confidence  in  your  hands 
the  powers  entrusted  to  you  by  her  Majesty's  Government.  These  powers 
are  indeed  of  very  serious  and  unusual  extent,  but  her  Majesty's  Government 
fully  rely  on  your  moderation  and  discretion  in  the  use  of  them.  You  are 
aware  that  they  have  only  been  granted  in  so  unusual  a  form  on  account 
of  the  very  unusual  circumstances  which  have  called  into  being  the  colony 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  161 

committed  to  yonr  charge,  and  which  may  for  some  time  continue  to  char- 
acterize it.  To  use  them,  except  for  the  most  necessary  purposes,  would 
be,  in  truth,  to  abuse  them  greatly.  They  are  required  for  the  maintenance 
of  British  law  and  British  habits  of  order,  and  for  regulating  the  special 
questions  to  which  the  condition  and  employment  of  the  population  may  give 
birth.  But  the  office  of  legislation,  in  the  higher  and  more  general  sense, 
should  be  left  for  the  legislature  which  may  l3e  hereafter  constituted,  and 
which  her  Majesty's  Government  hope  will  be  constituted  at  the  first  time 
consistent  with  the  general  interests  of  the  colony.  And  you  will  above  all 
remember  that  the  ordinary  rights  and  privileges  of  British  subjects  and 
of  those  foreigners  who  dwell  under  British  protection,  must  l>e  sedulously 
maintained,  and  that  no  innovation  contrary  to  the  principles  of  our  law 
can  be  justified,  except  for  purposes  of  absolute  and  temporary  necessity. 

"  I  will  only  add  that,  although  it  has  been  judged  prudent  not  to  make 
the  revocation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  license  take  efifect  until  pro- 
claimed by  yourself,  it  is  the  particular  instructions  of  her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment that  you  proclaim  it  with  the  least  practicable  delay,  so  that  no 
questions  like  those  which  have  already  arisen  as  to  the  extent  and  nature 
of  the  Company's   rights  can  possibly  occur." 


"  With  respect  to  offices  generally,  which  the  public  exigencies  may 
compel  you  tO'  create,  and  for  which  selections  should  be  made  in  England, 
I  hive  to  observe  that  I  consider  it  of  great  importance  to  the  general  social 
welfare  and  dignity  of  the  colony  that  gentlemen  should  be  encouraged  to 
come  from  this  kingdom,  not  as  mere  adventurers  seeking  employment,  but 
in  the  hope  of  obtaining  professional  occupations  for  which  they  are  calcu- 
lated; such,  for  instance,  as  stipendiary  magistrates  or  gold  commissioners. 

"  You  will,  therefore,  report  to  me  at  your  early  convenience,  whether 
there  is  any  field  for  such  situations,  and  describe  as  accurately  as  you  can 


Ifi2  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  peculiar  qualifications  which  are  requisite,  in  order  that  I  may  assist 
you  by  making  the  best  selections  in  my  power.  It  is  quite  natural  that  the 
servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  should,  from  their  knowledge  of 
business,  their  abilities  and  services,  have  a  very  fair  claim  to  consideration 
and  share  in  the  disposal  of  the  local  patronage.  But  caution  should  be 
observed  against  yielding  to  any  appearance  of  undue  favor  or  exclusiveness 
to  the  servants  of  that  company.  You  will  carefully  remember  that  the 
public  interests  are  the  first  consideration,  and  that  it  should  be  known 
that  employment  in  the  public  service  is  as  open  and  fair  in  British  Co- 
lumbia as  in  every  other  of  the  Queen's  colonial  possessions.  For  these 
reasons  it  is  still  more  desirable  that  careful  appointments  should  be  made 
in  England.  You  will  not  fail  to  write  to  me  fully  by  each  mail,  as  her 
Majesty'^  Government  wish  to  know  everything  that  passes  of  importance 
in   British  Columbia." 


"  Such  arrangements  may  on  the  whole  be  most  congenial  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  American  miners  whom  you  may  have  to  consider;  but  I  cannot 
forget  that  it  was  the  system  of  enforcing,  from  time  to  time,  the  license  fee 
which  created  in  Victoria  so  much  dissatisfaction,  and  ultimately  led  to 
the  Ballarat  riot,  and  to  the  adoption  of  new  rules.  The  Victorian  system 
was  in  the  main  the  same  as  that  which  you  have  apparently  adopted.  It 
exacted  a  license  fee  of  £i  from  each  miner  per  month,  and,  as  Sir  Charles 
Hotham  says  in  a  despatch,  21st  November,  1855,  to  Sir  William  Moles- 
worth,  '  the  great  and  primary  cause  of  complaint  which  I  found  was  un- 
doubtedly the  license  fee.' 

"  It  was  then  decided  that  the  monthly  license  fee  should  be  abolished, 
and  be  replaced,  independently  of  royalties,  first,  by  a  miner's  annual  cer- 
tificate of  £1 ;  secondly,  by  the  payment  of  £10  per  annum  on  every  acre  of 
alluvial  soil;  and  thirdly,  by  an  indirect  tax  in  the  shape  of  2s.  6d.  export 
duty  on  the  ounce  of  gold.     Experience  seems,  as  far  as  we  yet  know,  to 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  163 

have  justified  this  change  in  Victoria.  Discontent,  with  its  attendant  dangers, 
has  been  removed;  and  by  the  present  system,  which  appears  to  be  acqui- 
esced in  by  all  parties,  a  larger  revenue  is  obtained  than  ever  was  the  case 
under  the  earlier  arrangement.  I  obsen^e,  indeed,  by  the  last  Victorian  re- 
turns for  1856,  that  the  duties  on  the  export  of  gold  amounted  to  more 
than  £376,000." 

"  It  is  my  object  to  provide  for,  or  to  suggest  to  you  how  to  meet 
all  unforeseen  exigencies  to  the  colony  as  they  may  arise;  but  my  views 
are  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  common  interest  in  life  and  property 
will  induce  the  immigrants  to  combine  amongst  themselves  for  ordinary 
purposes,  and  that  when  danger  needing  military  force  arises,  they  will 
readily  gather  around  and  swell  the  force,  which  will  thus  expand  as  cir- 
cumstances require.  From  England  we  send  skill  and  discipline;  the  raw 
material  (that  is,  the  mere  men),  a  colony  intended  for  free  institutions,  and 
on  the  border  of  so  powerful  a  neighbor  as  the  United  States  of  America, 
should  learn  betimes  of  itself  to  supply. 

"  Referring  to  the  laudable  co-operation  in  the  construction  of  the  road 
which  has  been  evoked  by  your  energy  from=  the  good  sense  and  public  spirit 
of  the  miners,  I  rejoice  to  see  how  fully  that  instance  of  the  zeal  and  intel- 
ligence to  be  expected  from  the  voluntary  efforts  of  immigrants,  uniting  in 
the  furtherance  of  interests  common  to  them  all,  bears  out  the  principle  of 
policy  on  which  T  designed  to  construct  a  colony  intended  for  self-govern- 
ment, and  trained  to  its  exercise  by  self-reliance.  The  same  characteristics 
which  have  made  these  settlers  combine  so  readily  in  the  construction  of 
a  road,  will,  I  trust,  under  the  same  able  and  cheering  influence  which  you 
prove  that  you  know  so  well  how  to  exercise,  cause  them  equally  to  unite 
in  the  formation  of  a  police,  in  the  establishment  of  law,  in  the  collection 
of  revenue,  in  short,  in  all  which  may  make  individual  life  secure  and  the 
community  prosperous.     I  trust  you  will  assure  the  hardy  and  spirited  men 


164  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

who  have  assisted  in  this  prdiminary  undertaking,  how  much  their  conduct 
is  appreciated  by  her  Majesty's  Govemment. 

"  I  feel  thankful  for  the  valuable  services  so  seasonably  and  efficiently 
rendered  by  the  "  Satellite  "  and  "  Plumper."  I  cannot  conclude  without  a  cor- 
dial expression  of  my  sympathy  in  the  difficulties  you  have  encountered,  and 
of  my  sense  of  the  ability,  the  readiness  of  resource,  the  wise  and  manly  temper 
of  conciliation  which  you  have  so  signally  displayed ;  and  I  doubt  not  that 
you  will  continue  to  show  the  same  vigor  and  the  same  discretion  in  its 
exercise;  and  you  may  rely  with  confidence  on  whatever  support  and  aid 
her  Majesty's  Government  can  afford  you." 

Officialdom. 

A  careful  perusal  of  the  foregoing  will  show  how  carefully  and  intel- 
ligently the  wants  of  the  colony  had  been  thought  out,  and  what  a  liberal 
and  advanced  conception  of  pioneer  colonial  conditions  T>ord  Lvtton  pos- 
sessed. According  to  the  intimations  made  in  Lord  Lytton's  despatches, 
as  in  the  foregoing,  two  detachments  of  the  Royal  Engineers  were  despatched 
to  British  Columbia,  one  on  the  2nd  of  September  in  the  steamer  "La  Plata," 
under  command  of  Captain  Parsons,  who  was  accompanied  by  twenty  non- 
commissioned officers  and  men ;  and  the  other  by  the  clipper  ship  "  Thames 
City,'"  557  tons,  on  September  17th,  which  was  made  up  of  two  officers,  one 
staff  assistant  surgeon,  eighteen  non-commissioned  officers  and  men,  thirty-one 
women  and  thirty-four  children,  the  whole  under  the  command  of  Captain 
R.  H.  Luard,  R.  E.  Captain  Parsons  was  the  bearer  of  important  communi- 
cations to  Governor  Douglas.  One  was  his  commission  as  Governor  of 
British  Columbia,  another  empowering  him  to  make  due  provision  for  the 
administration  of  justice  and  the  establishment  of  laws  for  the  maintenance 
of  law  and  order;  and  still  another  notifying  him  of  the  revocation  of  the 
charter  of  May  30th,  1838,  so  far  as  the  Mainland  was  concerned.  By  the 
same  mail  came  the  advice  of  the  appointment  of  Colonel  Moody  to  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  165 

command  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  and  to  the  office  of  chief  commissioner  of 
lands  and  works.  Under  his  instructions  he  was  second  in  command  to 
Governor  Douglas,  from  whom  he  was  in  certain  matters  to  take  orders, 
but  with  special  duties  that  were  not  to  be  interfered  with  unless  "  under 
circumstances  of  the  greatest  gravity."  Simultaneously  also  came  the  ad- 
vice of  the  appointment  of  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie  as  Giief  Justice  of  the 
new  Colony,  who  was  to  receive  a  salary  of  £800  and  would  sail  by  packet 
on  October  2nd.  With  these  despatches  came  copies  of  proclamations  de- 
claring British  law  to  be  in  force  in  British  Columbia,  and  indemnifying 
the  governor  and  other  officers  for  acts  done  before  the  establishment  of 
legitimate  authority.  With  the  appointment  of  W.  Wymond  Hamley  as 
collector  of  customs,  the  organization  of  British  Columbia  was  practically 
complete,  and  it  only  required  the  arrival  of  the  incoming  officials  to  set 
the  machinery  of  government  in  full  operation.  This  was  in  1858,  but  it 
was  not  until  1864  that  the  mainland  colony  was  granted  a  representative 
assembly,  as  will  be  seen  later.  In  the  meantime  officialdom  was  king,  and 
the  word  of  James  Douglas  was  law. 

In  due  time  by  various  routes  Colonel  Moody,  Chief  Justice  Begbie, 
Mr.  Hamley,  Captain  Parsons  and  the  detachments  of  Royal  Engineers  and 
the  corps  of  Sappers  and  Miners  arrived,  and  the  real  work  of  starting  a 
colony  began. 

Preliminary  to  Organized  Government. 

To  go  back  a  step,  however,  the  rush  of  miners  to  the  Eraser  River 
made  it  necessary,  as  I  have  said,  to  take  steps  towards  preserving  law  and 
order  and  reducing  the  operations  of  the  miners  to  some  system  having 
respect  for  the  rights  of  the  community  as  well  as  of  the  individual.  It  was 
a  difficult  task  to  be  confronted.  Those  who  have  read  the  story  of  the 
mining  excitement  of  '49  in  California,  and  the  pages  of  history  for  the 
years  immediately  following  will  understand  the  character  of  population 
from  which  the  exodus  to  British  Columbia  was  drawn.     The  annals  of 


166  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

San  Francisco  in  the  early  days  are  replete  with  incidents  of  gambling,  rob- 
bery and  hold-ups,  murder,  vice  of  all  kinds,  and  general  social  misrule. 
The  disregard  for  life  was  one  of  the  pre\'ailing  tendencies  of  the  pioneer 
mining  camp.  In  its  wake  followed  all  the  toughs  and  blacklegs  and  des- 
peradoes, which  a  free  and  unfettered  life  in  the  far  west  developed  to  prey 
on  unorganized  or  imperfectly  organized  society.  The  miner  himself  was 
usually  an  honest  man,  with  a  high  native  regard  for  the  rights  of  his 
neighbors.  He  had  many  excellent  qualities  of  head  and  heart,  and  was 
a  good  example  of  what  we  usually  understand  by  the  "  diamond  in  the 
rough."  But  one  of  his  cardinal  principles  was  not  to  interfere  with  other 
people's  business,  and  to  ask  no  questions.  If  games  went  on  he  accepted 
it  as  one  of  the  natural  concomitants  of  the  life.  If  men  drank,  and  fought, 
and  cheated  at  cards  and  were  shot  they  regarded  the  incidents  as  the 
"  lookout "  of  those  who  engaged  in  them.  He  did  not  constitute  himself 
a  guardian  over  either  the  souls  or  the  bodies  of  any  person.  If  there  was 
excitement  he  might  take  a  hand  in  it.  He  knew  and  was  prepared  for 
the  risks.  If  he  were  wise  he  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the  toughs.  If  he 
got  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  the  many  webs  that  were  woven  in  this  rough 
and  ready  society,  and  got  the  worst  of  it,  it  was  part  of  the  game.  So 
the  outcasts  of  society  found  in  the  mining  camp  and  a  city  like  San  Fran- 
cisco, a  Mecca  of  adventurers,  a  congenial  soil  in  which  to  take  root  and 
flourish.  It  was  from  the  many  elements  of  which  the  Forty-Niners  of 
which  California  were  composed  that  Fraser  River  gold  seekers  were  drawn. 
Douglas  understood  the  men  he  had  to  deal  with,  and  was  prepared  to  deal 
with  them.  He  proposed  to  instill  in  their  hearts  a  wholesome  respect  of 
British  law.  Incidentally  he  did  not  forget  that  he  was  doing  business  for 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  His  first  move  was  to  establish  the  authority 
of  the  latter.  He  had  a  fleet  of  British  warhsips  at  hand,  two  boats,  the 
"  Otter  "  and  the  "  Beaver,"  the  property  of  the  Company,  to  assist  him  in 
maintaining  order  and  peace  and  enforcing  his  commands.    Fortunately  for  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  167 

country  Douglas  was  on  hand  to  exercise  an  authority  which,  though  ille- 
gally exercised  on  his  part,  was  necessary,  and,  therefore,  by  virtue  of  the 
exigencies  of  the  situation  became  law,  subsequently  confirmed.  A  procla- 
mation was  issued  on  the  8th  of  May  to  the  effect  that  *'  any  vessels  found 
in  British  northwest  waters  not  having  a  license  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  a  sufferance  from  the  customs  officer  at  Victoria  should  be 
forfeited."  The  proclamation  was  in  the  main  respected,  and  it  had  the 
effect  of  bringing  every  person  to  Victoria  as  a  starting  point.  The  Gov- 
ernor proceeded  himself  to  the  mainland,  and  found  at  Langley.  then  a 
post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  a  principal- point  of  attraction  for  the 
incomers,  a  number  of  speculators  taking  possession  of  the  land  and  staking 
out  lots  for  sale,  he  found  unlicensed  canoes,  and  contraband  trading  going 
on.  All  these  matters  were  speedily  set  right  to  his  own  liking.  Fort  Hope 
and  Fort  Yale  farther  up  the  river  soon  also  became  places  of  importance. 
These  were  visited  by  the  Governor.  The  miners  prior  to  his  arrival  had 
already  organized  a  form  of  government  for  their  requirements  and  had 
already  posted  regulations.  These  were  replaced  by  regulations  drawn  up 
and  proclaimed  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of  Vancouver  Island.  Persons 
carrying  on  business  were  required  to  pay  a  fee  of  $7.50  monthly  for  the 
use  of  land,  and  the  owners  of  claims  to  pay  $5  a  month  license.  Strict 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  was  enjoined  and  a  heavy  fine  was  imposed  on 
those  found  guilty  of  selling  liquor  to  the  Indians.  Special  constables  were 
appointed,  courts  of  justice  were  established,  and  permission  was  granted 
to  aliens  to  hold  land  without  interference  for  three  years,  after  which  it 
became  necessary  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  There  was  a  good  deal 
of  complaint  about  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and 
the  exaction  of  the  temporary  mining  and  other  regulations.  There  were 
also  troubles  among  the  miners,  incipient  revolution;  but  the  turbulent  ones 
were  soon  quelled,  and  the  early  mining  records  of  the  Fraser  as  well  as 
of  the  Cariboo  later  on  are  remarkably  free  from  notes  of  disorder.     There 


168  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

was  trouble  with  the  Indians,  who  resented  the  invasion  of  the  "  Boston  " 
men.  as  the  Americans  were  called  by  them;  and  an  Indian  war  ag-ainst  the 
whites  was  only  averted  by  the  influence  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  bloodshed  did  occur,  two  Frenchmen  having  been  killed. 
The  miners  organized  themselves  for  defense  and  enrolled  under  H.  M. 
Snyder.  They  marched  as  far  as  the  Thompson  River,  made  treaties  with 
some  2,000  Indians  between  Spuzzum  and  the  Forks. of  the  Thompson  River 
and  returned  to  Yale.  The  casualties  altogether  were  not  very  large,  being 
several  whites  and  about  thirty  Indians.  This  was  the  end  of  the  campaign. 
Road-building  was  also  undertaken.  Mr.  McKay,  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  of  Vancouver  Island,  who  was  with  Douglas  on  a  trip  up 
the  Fraser.  was  instructed  to  return  to  the  coast  by  way  of  Big  Lillooet  Lake 
to  ascertain  the  feasibility  of  a  shorter  route.  He  proceeded  to  the  head  of 
Howe  Sound  and  reported  that  the  route  he  had  followed  was  the  best  and 
shortest  whereby  to  reach  the  mines,  but  on  account  of  the  question  of  ex- 
pense in  opening  up  the  road  the  route  was  never  adopted.  At  Langley 
preparations  were  made  for  the  reception  of  the  Royal  Engineers  and  party 
from  England  and  a  sale  of  town  lots  to  take  place  at  Victoria  on  the  20th 
of  October  was  advertised.  It  may  be  here  stated  that  it  had  been  the  inten- 
tion of  making  Fort  I^ngley  the  capital  of  the  Mainland,  a  decision  that 
was  subsequently  changed  in  favor  of  New  Westminster. 

Choosing  the  Capital. 

Following  the  preliminaries  outlined  before  going,  which  were  ante- 
cedent to  any  recognized  form  of  government,  came  the  resignation  of 
Douglas  as  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  his  formal  appoint- 
ment as  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  British  Columbia,  the  arrival  of  Chiet 
Justice  Begbie,  of  Lt.  Col.  Moody,  of  Captains  Grant  and  Parsons,  the  Royal 
Engineers,  the  sappers  and  miners  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Government  para- 
phernalia.    What  followed  was  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  contained 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  169 

in  the  despatches  from  Lord  Lytton,  extracts  from  which  have  already  been 
given  in  the  preceding.  The  sale  of  Langley  town  lots  as  advertised  came 
off.  The  bidding  was  brisk,  and  the  demand  active.  In  two  days  some  400 
lots  were  sold  ranging  from  $100  to  $400  per  lot  and  aggregating  $68,000.  It, 
as  stated,  was  to  have  been  the  capital  of  British  Columbia,  and  work  had 
already  begun  on  the  erection  of  the  barracks,  and  tenders  were  called  for 
the  erection  of  church,  parsonage,  courthouse  and  jail  there.  The  arrival 
of  Col.  Moody,  the  new  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works  and  commander 
of  the  forces,  changed  all  that.  He  had  hardly  arrived,  however,  when  he 
was  despatched  to  Yale  along  with  some  of  his  Royal  Engineers  and  a  party 
of  marines  and  blue  jackets  to  quell  a  reported  uprising  among  the  miners. 
The  matter  did  not  prove  to  be  very  serious,  having  arisen  out  of  a  dispute 
among  special  constables,  over  the  body  of  a  prisoner.  Prominent  among 
these  was  the  notorious  Edward  McGowen,  who  was  finally  obliged  to  leave 
the  "  diggings."  The  incident  was  made  more  of  in  history  than  its  im- 
portance deserved.  Probably  on  account  of  the  display  of  force  made  by 
the  Government  officials  and  the  promptitude  with  which  they  responded  to 
the  demand  for  assistance,  the  trouble  was  not  greater  than  it  was.  It  had 
a  most  splendid  moral  effect  on  the  miners,  who  were  impressed  with  the 
thoroughness  and  efficiency  with  which  the  administration  of  justice  was 
carried  out.  There  never  was  thereafter  any  bar  disturbance,  because  it 
was  nothing  more  than  that,  in  which  Ned  McGowen  with  over-zeal,  so  Cap- 
tain Mayne  says,  committed  an  assault,  is  memorable  for  having  laid  sure 
the  foundations  of  peace  in  the  new  colony.  On  his  return  from  Yale  in 
H.  M.  S.  "  Plumper,"  Col.  Moody  examined  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  New 
Westminster  for  the  purposes  of  a  capital  and  selected  it  in  preference  to 
Derby,  as  it  was  proposed  to  call  Langley.  It  is  said  that  Col.  Moody,  in 
going  up  past  it  to  Yale  on  his  punitive  expedition,  pointed  to  the  sloping 
hillside  and  remarked  upon  its  advantages  from  a  strategical  point  of  view. 
Its  commanding  position,  its  accessibility  from  the  rear  to  the  sea,  and  the 


170  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

dqjth  of  water  on  its  frontage  were  all  advantages  in  its  favor  over  Derby. 
After  conference  with  Governor  Douglas  at  Victoria  the  recommendation 
of  Col.  Moody  was  adopted  and  the  plans  were  altered  accordingly.  A  town 
site  was  surveyed  and  parties  who  had  purchased  town  lots  in  Derby  were 
notified  that  they  might  surrender  their  lots  there  and  receive  others  in 
Queenborough,  or  Queensborough,  as  you  will,  in  their  place.  The  late 
Sir  Henry  Crease,  in  a  contribution  made  to  the  Year  Book  of  British 
Columbia  at  the  request  of  the  author,  described  some  incidents  of  interest 
in  connection  with  the  selection  of  the  capital  of  New  Westminster,  for 
thus  it  came  to  be  called  :  "  Col.  Moody,  R.  E.,  who  had  come  out  with  a 
corps  of  four  hundred  engineers  to  assist  in  protecting  and  advancing  the 
country,  and  had  a  dormant  commission  as  its  Governor  in  case  of  the 
prolonged  absence,  illness,  or  incapacity  of  the  Governor,  at  once  opposed 
the  selection  of  Langley  as  being  on  the  wrong  bank  of  the  river,  and  inde- 
fensible on  military  grounds,  and  with  his  officers  sought  a  suitable  site  on 
the  right  bank  proper,  and  against  the  advice  of  his  officers,  at  first  fixed 
on  Mary  Hill,  a  fine  and  elevated  site  near  the  mouth  of  Pitt  River,  in 
preference  to  a  still  finer  site  a  couple  of  miles  lower  down  on  the  right 
bank,  and  ordered  his  senior  captain — Captain  Jack  Grant,  as  he  was  famil- 
iarly termed,  now  General  Grant,  R.  E. — to  take  the  axe  and  make  the  first 
cut  at  one  of  the  trees  nearest  the  river.  He  was  in  the  act  of  swinging 
his  axe  to  deliver  the  blow,  when  he  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  mis- 
take they  were  making  that  he  said :  '  Colonel,  with  much  submission  I  will 
ask  not  to  do  it.  Will  you  yourself  be  pleased  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
making  the  first  cut?' — respectfully  giving  his  reasons.  These  were  of  sa 
cogent  a  nature,  one  being  that  the  lower  site  being  at  the  head  of  tide- 
water, big  ships  could  come  up  the  Eraser  to  it,  and  that  it  was  easily  de- 
fensible by  a  tete  du  pont  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  similar 
reasons,  that  the  Colonel  was  convinced,  rowed  down  the  river  and  ordered 
the  first  cut  to  be  delivered  on  one  of  the  huge  cedars  with  which  the  hill 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  171 

was  covered,  and  named  the  new  town  '  Queenborough.'  But  so  great 
already  was  the  jealousy  in  Victoria  against  the  projected  new  city  that 
Queenborough  was  considered  by  the  Colonial  Secretary,  Mr.  W.  A.  G. 
Young,  as  too  nearly  a  paraphrase  of  Victoria,  the  only  permissible  Queen 
city,  that  after  a  great  inkshed  and  a  long  acrid  correspondence  the  name 
was  proclaimed  to  be  not  the  Queenborough  (Victoria),  but  Queensbor- 
ough,  which  was  quite  another  thing.  The  site  was  put  up  to  auction  and 
sold  at  great  prices  on  the  understanding  that  all  the  money,  a  large  sum, 
from  the  sale  should  be  applied  in  opening  the  streets  and  clearing  away 
from  the  lots  some  of  as  large  and  dense  timber  as  the  world  could  possibly 
produce^ — an  undertaking  which  it  need  scarcely  be  said  the  government 
for  lack  of  money  to  push  its  roads  and  public  works  could  not,  or  would 
not  provide,  and  the  purchasers  were  obliged  to  tax  themselves  a  second 
time  and  engage  in  '  bees,'  as  in  old  Canada,  to  get  even  a  small  quantity 
of  the  site  cleared  and  to  submit  to  the  feeling  of  having  been  deceived, 
and  to  see  Victoria's  streets  and  roads  flourish  while  Queensborough  had  to 
be  content  with  trails.  The  sequel  may  as  well  be  told.  The  matter  was 
taken  up  by  the  Home  Government,  Her  Majesty  was  engaged  to  finally 
fix  on  the  name  and  by  Royal  Proclamation,  Queensborough  (a  convenient 
name)  was  converted  into  a  Royal  city,  and  the  capital  of  British  Columbia 
under  the  name  of  New  Westminster  (an  inconvenient  one),  and  on  the 
faith  of  that  many  invested  their  all  in  it." 

The  camp  of  the  Royal  Engineers  was  located  about  one  mile  west 
of  New  Westminster,  where  the  Provincial  Penitentiary  now  stands.  Here 
the  sappers  and  miners  went  to  work  to  prepare  permanent  quarters  and 
on  account  of  that  was  named  Sapperton,  which  as  a  suburb  of  the  city  it  is 
still  known  as.  Here  an  official  residence  for  Col.  Moody  and  family  and 
suite  was  erected,  and  here  the  first  church  in  the  colony  of  British  Colum- 
bia was  raised  for  the  purposes  of  public  worship.  Col.  Moody  moved  from 
Victoria  to  his  new  residence  on  the  i8th  of  May,    1859.     Work  on  the 


173  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

clearing  of  the  town  site  and  the  making  of  the  streets  was  carried  on. 
Oueensborough  was  on  the  2nd  of  June  declared  to  be  the  sole  port  of  entry 
for  vessels  entering  the  Fraser  River,  and  for  all  goods  imported  by  sea 
into  the  ports  of  British  Columbia  adjacent  to  the  Fraser  River,  and  a  tariff 
of  customs  duties  was  established.  The  first  sale  of  Queensborough  lots  took 
place  in  June  and  was  most  successful.  This  was  followed  on  July  20th 
by  a  proclamation  setting  forth  that  Her  Majesty  had  decided  to  change 
the  name  of  the  capital  to  New  Westminster. 

Road  Building  Extraordinary. 

Governor  Douglas  was  essentially  a  road-builder  and  had  he  lived  to- 
day, instead  of  over  fifty  years  ago,  when  his  energies  were  at  their  prime, 
he  would  in  all  probability  have  been  a  railway  magnate  or  as  the  leader 
of  a  government  would  have  had  a  strong  railway  and  road  policy.  Even 
at  this  early  date  he  launched  out  in  a  policy  of  building  roads,  which  in 
their  every  detail  remain  to-day  a  monument  to  the  zeal,  energy  and  care 
which  he  displayed  in  their  undertaking.  The  Royal  Engineers  were  a  mili- 
tary organization,  but  their  purpose  in  British  Columbia  was  not  so  much 
that  of  defense  as  the  opening  up  of  the  country  by  the  laying  out  of  roads, 
the  work  of  which  they  entered  upon  with  zest;  that  they  did  not  persevere 
in  the  good  work  which  they  began  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  residents  of 
British  Columbia  did  not  think  their  services  were  necessary,  and  there  was 
the  usual  jealousy  as  to  their  supervision  of  public  works.  The  alleged 
reason  for  their  disbandment,  w'hich  took  place  in  1863,  was  that  their  special 
services  were  unnecessary.  They,  however,  performed  splendid  works  in 
laying  the  foundation  and  were  a  splendid  lot  of  men.  Those  who  wished 
to  return  were  given  a  free  passage  to  England.  Those  who  wished  to  re- 
main were  each  allowed  a  free  grant  of  150  acres  of  land.  The  greater 
number,  enamored  with  the  freedom  and  abandon  of  a  new  country,  and 
the  prospects  of  participating  in  coming  development,  chose  to  remain,  mak- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  1T3 

ing  their  selections  out  of  unoccupied  land.     Col.  Moody  and  staff,  accom- 
panied by   some  twenty-five  or  thirty   of   the   force,    returned   to  England. 
Road  building  was  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  years  between  1859  and 
1864,  the  year  of  Governor  Douglas's  retirement.     Speaking  of  that  we  may 
again  quote  the  remarks  of  the  late  Sir  Henry  Crease.     He  remarks  that, 
"  Next  to  the  great  financial  principle  for  government  which  he  professed, 
roads  in  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia  were  the  one  great  object 
which  Governor  Douglas,  during  his  long  reign,  always  kept  in  view.     He 
was  a  king  of  roads.     As  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer  he  had  traveled 
from  end  to  end  of  this  great  country  from  the  earlier  days  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  down   to  the  time  he  had  charge  of  its  affairs,   and  knew 
the  difticulty  and  delay  caused  in  getting  in  supplies  to  the  out-stations,  and 
was   thoroughly   convinced   that   no   mining   could   be   carried   on    for   any 
length  of  time  profitably  without  giving  the  greatest  possible  facilities  for 
getting  supplies  to  their  works,  and  in  Vancouver  Island  in  enabling  farm- 
ers to  take  their  produce  without  difficulty  to  market.     So  everywhere  around 
Victoria  for  miles  splendid  roads,  much  better  than  they  are  now   (1897), 
well  macadamized,  abounded.     Many  and  good  roads  were  made  into  the 
interior  and  along  the  coast,  where  the  configuration  of  grounds  made  them 
practicable.     Thence,  they  were  extended  into  the  districts  outside  of  Vic- 
toria— e.  g.,  Cowichan,  Chemainus,  Saanich  and  Lake,  were  duplicated,  nay, 
even  at  times,  as  for  instance  at  Comox,  triplicated — and  a  still  greater  and 
bolder  enterprise  was  contemplated  by  Sir  James  Douglas,  and  indeed  com- 
menced by  him  on  the  Mainland,  no  less  than  a  prospective  toll  wagon  road 
from  Hope,  the  then  head  of  navigation  of  the  Fraser  River,  through  Hope, 
Similkameen  and  Okanagan,  down  and  across  the  Columbia  to  Kootenay, 
and  more  ambitious  still,  through  the  Rocky  Mountain  Passes  and  across  the 
Indian  territory  via  Edmonton  House  to  meet  a  similar  road  from  Canada 
westward  towards  British  Columbia,  which  he  confidently  expected  eastern 
Canada  would  build  to  meet  him  at  Edmonton,  and  form  together  a  great 


174  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

British  Canadian  colonization  road,  England  being  too  far  off  to  expect  any 
general  colonization  from  thence.     General  immigration  from  Canada  east 
was  always  his  idea,  fostered,  no  doubt,  by  his  familiarity  with  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  coasts  in  that  direction  and  away  north.     Convinced  always 
that  population  ultimately  would  come  from  Canada  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  so  satisfied  was  he  of  the  benefit  it  would  be  both  to  British  Co- 
lumbia and  Canada,  that  he  was  inclined  to  press  such  a  scheme  as  a  toll 
colonization  road  if  it  could  be  favored  by  the  Home  Government,  and  he 
'    hoped  to  obtain  from  them  what  then  would  have  been  an  impossible  com- 
mission.    At  first  his  aims  were  confined  to  opening  the  country  by  roads 
along  the  Fraser  up  to  the  bars  and  placers  where  already  gold  was  found 
in  paying  quantities  and  more  expected  further  up.     Miners  and  prospectors 
fitting  out  at  Victoria  took  at  first  the  "  Otter  "  and  "  Beaver,"  the  only  two 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  steamers  which  had  come  out  to  this  country  round 
Cape  Horn  to  Queensborough,  and  by  sternwheel  steamer  to  Douglas.   Then 
from  Douglas  they  proceeded  along  the  Pemberton  Portage  and  the  Lakes, 
which  were  crossed  by  steamer  to  Lillooet,  where  they  joined  the  Fraser 
and  its  gold  bearing  bars  again.     From  Lillooet  a  wagon   road  was  pro- 
jected to  climb  up  Pavilion  Mountain  by  the  well-known  Rattlesnake  grade 
and  go  on  to  Clinton  and  from  thence  on  through  the  green  timber  and 
the  fifty-mile  alkali  belt  along  Lac  La  Hache  to  the  i5oMile  House,  thence 
to  Soda  Creek,  Alexandria  and  Quesnel  Mouth;  thence  direct  east  by  Cot- 
tonwood and  Van  Winkle  to  Richfield  and  Williams  Creek,   some  of  the 
richest  gold-fields  of  the  rich  Cariboo  country.     The  Similkameen  road  from 
Hope  was  commenced  as  a  trail,  with  the  progress  and  prospects  of  which 
Governor  Douglas  was  so  pleased  that  he  directed  it  to  be  converted  into 
a  wagon  road.     This  he  intended  as  a  toll  road  to  Kootenay  and  across  the 
Rockies,  but  required  a  petition  from  the  people  of  Hope,  who  would  have 
been  enriched  by  the  business  of  the  road,  requesting  him  to  impose  a  small 
toll  on  goods  and  passengers  to  authorize  him  to  raise  and  expend  the  neces- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  175 

sary  money.  At  the  instance,  however,  of  a  petty  local  opposition  the  peti- 
tion was  not  signed.  The  Similkameen  route  as  a  through  road  fell  through 
— although,  as  will  be  shown,  a  good  and  valuable  trail  was  afterwards  made 
in  that  direction. 

"  Failing  at  Hope,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  Yale,  the  merchants 
of  which  were  delighted  at  the  chance,  and  warmly  espoused  a  wagon  road 
along  the  rocky  canons  and  forbidding  defiles  and  banks  of  the  Fraser, 
passing  Lytton  and  up  the  Thompson  by  way  of  Ashcroft  and  the  Bona- 
parte to  join  the  other  part  of  the  wagon  road  at  Qinton,  thus  making  the 
connection  with  Caribco  complete — and  giving  the  whole  of  the  Lillooet- 
Yale  road  to  Cariboo  the  general  name  of  the  Cariboo  Road — a  monument 
to  the  determined  will,  outlay  and  skill  of  the  chief  who  ordered  and  the 
men  who  executed  this  (even  at  this  day)  wonderful  effort  of  engineering 
skill,  and  which  opened  up  such  a  long  and  wide  tract  of  auriferous  as  well 
as  agricultural  country." 

Tlie  men  who  constructed  this  great  work  were  the  Royal  Engineers, 
who  were  paid  by  the  Colony,  and  local  men.  A  list  is  here  given  of  the 
roads  constructed  under  Sir  James  Douglas's  regime,  and  the  men  who 
made  them : 

ESQUIMALT. 

The  road  from  Everett's  "Horse  and  Jockev"  to  Esquimalt,  built  in  i860  by  (now 
Sir)   J.  W.  Trutch. 

Douglas  Portage. 

From  Douglas  to  Six  Mile  Post  by  Royal  Engineers  in  1861 ;  from  Six  Mile  Post 
to  Twelve  Mile  Post  by  Royal  Engineers  in  1861 ;  from  Twelve  Mile  House  to  Eighteen 
Mile  Post  by  Hon.  J.  W.  Trutch,  1861 ;  from  Eighteen  Mile  Post  to  Twenty-eight  Mile 
Post,  Little  Lake,  by  Royal  Engineers,   1861. 

Pemberton  Portage. 

From  Pemberton  at  head  of  Lillooet  Lake  to  Six-Mile  Post  by  Colquhoun,  in 
autumn,   1861,   failing   to  complete   contract  to  Anderson  Lake. 

From  Six-Mile  Post  across  Anderson  Portage  to  Twenty-Seven  Mile  Post  at  head 
of  Anderson  Lake,  in  autumn  and  winter  of  1861,  by  Joseph  W.  Trutch,  to  complete 
Colquhoun's   contract. 

From   foot  of  Seaton  Lake  about  three  miles  to  Lillooet  in  1860  or  1861. 

Yale- Cariboo  Wagon  Road. 

Mule  Trail. — From  Yale  to  Spuzzum  Ferry,  11  miles  by  Powers  and  M.  C.  Roberts 
in  summer  of  1861. 

From  Spuzzum  to  Boston  Bar,  14  miles,  in  the  autumn  of  1861,  by  the  same. 
Wagon  Road. — From  Yale  to  Six-Mile  Post  by  Royal  Engineers  in  1862. 


176  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

From  Six-Mile  Post  to  Thirteen-Mile  Post  at  Suspension  Bridge,  by  Thomas  Spence 
in  autumn  of  1862. 

Alejjandria  Suspension  Bridge,  erected  in  summer  of  1863  by  Joseph  W.  Trutch. 
From  Suspension   Bridge  to  Boston   Bar,   12  miles,  by  J.  W.  Trutch  in   1862-3. 

From  Boston  Bar  to  Lytton.  32  miles,  by  Spence  and  Landvoight.  1862. 

From  Lytton  to  Cook's  Ferry  (Spence's  Bridge),  23  miles,  by  Moberly  and  Oppen- 
heimer,  in    1862  and  spring  of  1863. 

Spence's  Bridge,  built  by  Thomas  Spence  in  1863-4. 

From  Spence's  Bridge  to  Eighty-nine-Mile  Post,  9  miles,  by  Royal  Engineers  in 
1863.      From  Eighty-ninc-Mile  Post  to  Ninety-three-Mile  Post,  by  Thomas  Spence  in  1864. 

From  Ninety-three-Mile  Post  to  Clinton  at  136-Mile  Post,  Moberly  and  Hood  in 
1863.     (Note. — Clinton,  136  miles  from  Yale.) 

Wagon  Road,  Lillooet  to  Alexandria. 

From  Lillooet  to  Clinton,  47  miles,  by  Gustavus  Ben  Wright  in   1861. 
From  Clinton  to  Soda  Creek,  177  miles  from  Lillooet,  by  G.  B.  Wright  in  1863. 
From  Alexandria  to  Quesnel  Mouth,  40  miles,  by  Spence  and  Landvoight,  1863. 
From  Quesnel  to  Cottonwood,  21  miles,  1864. 
From  Cottonwood  to  Barkerville,  42  miles.  1865. 

Now  to  return  to  the  wagon  road  from  Hope  to  and  across  the  Rockies. 

Having  been  obliged  to  abandon  his  original  plan,  which  was  a  wagon 
road,  commenced  by  ex-Lieutenant-Governor  Hon.  E.  Dewdney,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  numerous  works  of  surveying  and  engineering  he  had  already 
completed  in  the  Colony — he  had  done  twelve  miles  of  it  when  it  was  stopped, 
for  lack  of  the  supjxDrt  I  have  described  from  the  people  of  Hope,  but  the  road 
was  carried  on  twenty-five  miles  to  Skagit  Flat.  From  thence  the  Royal 
Engineers  carried  on  a  trail  to  Princeton,  which  was -afterwards  much  im- 
proved by  Alison's  cut-off.  This  trail  was  improved  from  Skagit  to  the 
Summit.  It  was  then  carried  through  the  open,  down  the  Similkameen 
country.  In  1865,  Mr.  Dewdney  commenced  a  trail  down  the  Similkameen, 
by  Keremeos  to  Osoyoos ;  thence  he  followed  the  boundary  along  down  Kettle 
River  Valley  to  the  mouth  of  Christine  Creek;  thence  across  the  mountains 
to  Fort  Shepherd  east  of  the  Columbia,  crossing  the  Kootenay  River  at  the 
mouth  of  Kootenay  Lake.  This  was  in  1865,  when  Sir  Joseph  W.  Trutch 
was  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works.  From  Kootenay  Lake,  Mr. 
Dewdney  carried  the  trail  by  the  Mooyie  to  Wild  Swan  Creek,  now  called 
Fort  Steele.  This  was  done  from  Osoyoos  in  1865,  but  it  has  been  much 
improved  since.     It  has  always  been  called  Dewdney  Trail,  and  it  has  been 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  177 

by  means  of  Dewdney  that  access  has  been  given  to  the  rich  Kootenay  coun- 
try, and  great  facilities  afiforded  for  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  valu- 
able deposits  of  gold  in  that  district.  In  fact,  the  Dewdney  trail  was  the 
key  to  the  Kootenays. 


178  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


CHAPTER  IX. 
UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 

Scarcely  had  the  colony  of  British  Columbia  been  fully  organized,  as 
described  in  the  last  chapter,  when  an  agitation  was  set  on  foot  for  represent- 
ative government  and  union  with  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island.  With  the 
limited  population  and  the  contiguity  of  the  two  colonies  it  was  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world  that  union  should  be  suggested.  There  was  dual 
governorship,  a  dual  set  of  officials,  a  dual  system  of  fiscal  arrangements,  and 
a  dual  administration  of  justice.  It  was  obvious  that  by  consolidation  a 
large  item  of  expense  might  be  saved.  There  were  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  even  so  simple  a  solution — personal  interests  and  sectional  considerations. 

Early  in  1861  a  memorial  was  presented  to  Governor  Douglas  from 
residents  of  several  parts  of  the  Mainland  asking  for  a  representative  As- 
sembly for  the  colony  of  British  Columbia.  This  was  inevitable.  The  colony 
was  ruled  directly  by  representatives  of  the  Crown,  nominally  by  the  sov- 
ereign, through  a  responsible  minister,  the  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  who 
conveyed  his  instructions  to  the  British  Columbia  officials.  These  were  car- 
ried into  effect  under  the  supervision  of  the  Governor.  Vancouver  Island, 
a  much  smaller  colony  and  less  important  from  many  points  of  view,  had  a 
legislative  assembly,  and  it  cannot  be  wondered  at  that  the  residents  of  Brit- 
ish Columbia  should  seek  for  similar  consideration.  Sir  James  Douglas  did 
not  favor,  this.  There  were  several  reasons  which  suggested  opposition  on 
his  part.  His  experience  so  far  as  the  more  favored  colony  of  Vancouver 
Island  was  concerned  did  not  argue  for  its  usefulness  in  his  mind.  The  As- 
sembly there  was  largely  the  creature  of  his  will,  and  of  his  successors,  Gov- 
ernors Kennedy  and  Seymour,  neither  regarded  it  as  of  particular  import- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  179 

ance.  The  former  in  a  dispatch  said :  "  There  is  no  medium  or  connecting 
hnk  between  the  G( ,^elncr  ?nd  the  Assembly,  and  the  time  of  the  Legislative 
Council  (which  comprises  the  principal  executive  officers )  is  mainly  occupied 
in  the  correction  of  mistakes,  or  undoing  the  crude  legislation  of  the  lower 
House,  who  have  not,  and  cannot  be  expected  to  have,  the  practical  experi- 
ence or  available  time  necessary  for  the  successful  conduct  of  public  affairs. 
On  financial  subjects  they  are  always  greatly  at  fault."  Governor  Seymour 
in  a  dispatch  on  the  same  subject  remarked :  "  The  loss  of  the  House  of  As- 
sembly would  not,  I  think,  be  much  regretted."  That  Governor  Douglas, 
whose  nature  was  to  rule  with  a  lone  hand,  should  not  have  a  high  opinion 
of  that  Assembly  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  Tliere  was,  again,  the  personal 
reason  that  he  did  not  desire  to  share  with  any  legislative  or  representative 
body  the  responsibilities  of  government.  A  man  who  had  been  chief  factor 
in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  an  aggregation  of  autocrats,  with  a  long  ex- 
perience of  supreme  authority,  could  not  adapt  himself  to  the  limitations  to 
be  imposed  by  what  he  could  not  but  regard  as  inferior  officials.  He  had 
been  reared  in  the  kind  of  school  that  did  not  brook  contradiction.  But 
there  was  still  another  reason,  and  we  must  do  justice  to  Sir  James  in  sup- 
posing that  it  had  due  weight  with  him.  In  fact,  there  were  a  number  of 
reasons.  He  was  a  man  of  practical  ideas.  His  experience  in  the  govern- 
ment of  men  and  in  affairs  had  taught  him  useful  lessons,  and  one  of  them 
was  that  a  wise  autocracy  is  better  than  rule  by  democracy.  He  cared  little 
for  theories  of  government.  He  believed  in  direct  methods  and  undivided 
responsibility.  Apart  from  that  there  were  peculiar  circumstances  in  British 
Columbia  that  rendered  the  system  of  government  in  vogue  in  England  as  the 
result  of  centuries  of  development  inapplicable  to  a  new  country  with  un- 
stable and  unsettled  conditions.  These  reasons  he  set  out  ably  and  clearly 
in  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  April  22nd,  1861.  After  en- 
umerating the  steps  which  had  been  taken  to  lay  before  him  the  views  of  the 
delegation,  which  had  waited  upon  him,  he  pointed  out  that  what  they  had  in 


180  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

mind  was  a  general  reduction  of  taxation,  and  that  instead  of  a  system  of 
import  and  inland  duties  levied  on  goods,  which  were  regarded  as  oppres- 
sive, they  proposed  to  carry  on  the  public  works  necessary  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country  by  means  of  public  loans,  their  object  being  to  throw 
a  portion  of  the  burden  upon  posterity,  something  which  he  regarded,  as  in- 
deed, not  without  a  measure  of  justice  in  it,  and  consequently  with  many 
zealous  advocates.  It  may  be  remarked  incidentally  that  the  memorialists 
were  certainly  not  antiquated  in  their  ideas  of  public  finance  and  really  antici- 
pated a  policy  that  became  only  too  popular  in  later  years,  and  was  carried 
to  such  an  extreme  as  to  shift  an  inordinate  share  of  burden  on  future  gen- 
erations, and  to  seriously  impair  the  credit  of  the  province.  In  proceeding 
to  review  the  various  subjects  brought  to  his  attention,  he  remarked : 

Douglas's  Views  on  a  Legislature  for  British  Columbia. 

"  The  first  prayer  of  the  inhabitants  is  for  a  resident  governor  in  British 
Columbia,  entirely  unconnected  with  Vancouver  Island.  Your  Grace,  will 
perhaps,  pardon  me  from  hazarding  an  opinion  on  a  subject  which  so  nearly 
concerns  my  own  official  position.  I  may,  however,  at  least  remark  that  I 
have  spared  no  exertion  to  promote  the  interests  of  both  colonies,  and  am  not 
conscious  of  having  neglected  any  opportunity  of  adding  to  their  prosperity. 
The  memorial  then  proceeds  to  the  subject  of  Representative  Institutions, 
asking  for  a  form  of  government  similar  to  that  existing  in  Australia  and  the 
Eastern  British  North  American  Provinces.  This  application  should,  per- 
haps, be  considered  to  apply  more  to  the  future  well-being  of  the  colony  than 
to  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  existing  population.  Without  pretending  to 
question  the  talent  or  experience  of  the  petitioners,  or  their  capacity  for  legis- 
lation and  self-government,  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  there  is  not,  as 
yet,  a  sufficient  basis  of  population  or  property  in  the  colony  to  institute  a 
sound  system  of  self-government.  The  British  element  is  small,  and  there 
is  absolutely  neither  a  manufacturing  nor  farmer  class;  there  are  no  landed 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  181 

proprietors,  except  holders  of  building  lots  in  towns;  no  producers,  except 
miners,  and  the  general  population  is  essentially  migratory — the  only  fixed 
population,  apart  from  New  Westminster,  being  the  traders  settled  in  the 
several  inland  towns,  from  which  the  miners  obtain  their  supplies.  It  would, 
I  conceive,  be  unwise  to  commit  the  work  of  legislation  to  persons  so  situated, 
having  nothing  at  stake,  and  no  real  vested  interest  in  the  colony.  Such  a 
course,  it  is  hardly  unfair  to  say,  could  be  scarcely  expected  to  promote  either 
the  happiness  of  the  people  or  the  prosperity  of  the  colony ;  and  it  would  un- 
questionably be  setting  up  a  power  that  might  materially  hinder  and  em- 
barrass the  Government  in  the  great  work  of  developing  the  resources  of  this 
country ;  a  power  not  representing  large  bodies  of  landed  proprietors,  nor  of 
responsible  settlers  having  their  homes,  their  property,  their  sympathies,  their 
dearest  interest  irrevocably  identified  with  the  country;  but  from  the  fact 
before  stated,  of  there  being  no  fixed  population,  except  in  the  towns.  Judg- 
ing from  the  ordinary  motives  which  influence  men,  it  may  be  assumed  that 
local  interests  would  weigh  more  with  a  legislature  so  formed,  than  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  great  and  permanent  interests  of  the  country. 

"  I  have  reason  to  belive  that  the  memorial  does  not  express  the  senti- 
ments of  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  British  Columbia,  not  that  I  would, 
for  a  moment,  assume  that  Englishmen  are,  under  any  circumstances,  un- 
mindful of  their  political  birthright,  but  I  believe  that  the  majority  of  the 
working  and  reflective  classes  would,  for  many  reasons,  infinitely  prefer  the 
government  of  the  Queen,  as  now  established,  to  the  rule  of  a  party,  and 
would  think  it  prudent  to  postpone  the  establishment  of  representative  in- 
stitutions until  the  permanent  population  of  the  country  is  greatly  increased 
and  capable  of  moral  influence,  by  maintaining  the  peace  of  the  country,  and 
making  representative  institutions  a  blessing  and  a  reality,  and  not  a  by- 
word or  a  curse. 

"  The  total  population  of  British  Columbia  and  from  the  colonies  in 
North  America,  in  the  three  towns  supposed  to  be  represented  by  the  memo- 


182  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

rialists,  is  as  follows:  New  Westminster,  164  male  adults;  Hope,  108  adults; 
Douglas,  33  adults,  in  all  305,  which,  supposing  all  perfect  in  their  views 
respecting  representative  institutions,  is  a  mere  fraction  of  the  population. 
Neither  the  people  of  Yale,  Lytton  or  Cayoosh,  Rock  Creek,  Alexandria,  or 
Similkameen  appear  to  have  taken  any  interest  in  the  proceeding  or  to  have 
joined  the  movement. 

"  From  the  satisfactory  working  of  the  New  Westminster  Council,  es- 
tablished last  summer,  with  large  powers  for  municipal  purposes,  I  enter- 
tained the  idea  of  enlarging  the  sphere  of  their  operations,  and  of  constituting 
similar  bodies  at  Hope,  Yale,  and  Cayoosh,  and  all  the  other  towns  in  British 
Columbia,  with  the  view,  should  it  meet  with  the  approval  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  of  ultimately  developing  the  whole  system  into  a  House  of  As- 
sembly. Part  of  the  system  has  already  been  commenced  at  Yale  and  Hope. 
The  Government  may,  by  that  means,  call  into  exercise  the  sagacity  and 
knowledge  of  practical  men,  and  acquire  valuable  information  upon  local 
matters,  thus  reaping  one  of  the  advantages  of  a  legislative  assembly  without 
the  risks — and,  I  still  think  the  colony  may,  for  some  time  to  come,  be  suf- 
ficiently represented  in  that  manner. 

"  The  existing  causes  of  dissatisfaction  as  alleged  in  the  memorial,  may 
be  classified  under  the  following  heads:  (i)  That  the  Governor,  Colonial 
Secretary  and  Attorney  General  do  not  reside  permanently  in  British  Colum- 
bia. (2)  That  the  taxes  on  goods  are  excessive  as  compared  with  the 
population,  and  in  part  levied  on  boatmen,  who  derive  no  benefit  from  them, 
and  that  there  is  no  land  tax.  (3)  That  the  progress  of  Victoria  is  stimu- 
lated at  the  expense  of  British  Columbia,  and  that  no  encouragement  is  given 
to  shipbuilding  or  to  the  foreign  trade  of  the  colony.  (4)  That  money  has 
been  injudiciously  squandered  on  public  works  and  contracts  given  without 
any  public  notice,  which  subsequently  have  been  sub-let  to  the  contractors 
at  a  much  lower  rate.  (5)  That  faulty  administration  has  been  made  of 
public  lands,  and  that  lands  have  been  declared  public  reserves,  which  have 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  183 

been  afterwards  claimed  by  parties  connected  with  the  Colonial  Government. 
(6)  The  want  of  a  registry  office,  for  the  record  of  transfers  and  mortgages. 
"  The  first  complaint,  that  the  Governor,  etc.,  do  not  reside  permanently 
in  British  Columbia,  scarcely  requires  comment  from  me.  Your  Grace  is 
aware  that  I  have  a  divided  duty  to  perform,  and  that  if  under  the  present 
circumstances  the  Colonial  Secretary  and  Attorney  General  resided  perma- 
nently in  British  Columbia,  these  offices  would  be  little  better  than  a  sinecure 
— the  public  service  would  be  retarded  and  a  real  and  just  complaint  would 
exist.  Although  the  treasury  is  now  established  at  New  Westminster,  and 
the  Treasurer  resides  permanently  there,  I  have  nO'  hesitation  in  saying  that 
it  would  be  far  more  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  service  if  that  department 
were  still  in  Victoria. 

"  The  complaint  of  over-taxation  is  not  peculiar  to  British  Columbia, 
but  whether  it  is  well  founded  or  not  may  be  inferred  from  the  example  of 
other  countries.  Judging  from  that  estimate,  the  people  of  British  Columbia 
have  certainly  no  reason  for  complaint  of  their  public  burdens,  for  the  United 
States  tariff  which  is  vigorously  enforced  in  the  neighboring  parts  of  Wash- 
ington Territory,  averages  25  per  cent  on  all  foreign  goods — spirits  and  other 
articles  of  luxury  excepted,  on  which  a  much  higher  rate  of  duty  is  charged. 
The  citizen  of  Washington  Territory  has  also  to  pay  the  assessed  road  and 
school  taxes,  levied  by  the  Territorial  Legislature.  In  contrast  with  these 
taxes,  the  import  duty  levied  in  British  Columbia  is  only  ten  per  cent,  with 
a  similar  exception  of  spirits  and  a  few  articles  of  luxury,  which  pay  a  higher 
duty;  while  all  other  taxes  levied  in  the  colony  are  also  proportionately  low, 
compared  with  those  of  Washington  Territory.  I  might  also  further  state 
that  two-thirds  of  the  taxes  raised  in  British  Columbia  have  been  expended 
in  making  roads,  and  other  useful  works,  and  have  produced  a  reduction  of 
not  less  than  a  hundred  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  transport,  and  nearly  as  great 
a  saving  in  the  cost  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  so  that  while  the  communi- 


184  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

cations  are  \^mg  rapidly  improved,  the  people  are,  at  the  same  time,  really 
reaping  substantial  benefits  more  than  compensating  the  outlay. 

"  With  respect  to  the  complaint  about  the  boatmen,  they  had  no  claim 
whatever  to  be  exempted  from  the  law  imposing  a  duty  indiscriminately  on 
all  goods  passing  upward  from  Yale,  neither  did  the  duty  bear  at  all  upon 
them,  as  they  were  merely  carriers,  and  not  owners  of  the  goods.  The  real 
question  at  issue  was,  whether  the  inland  duty  should  be  charged  on  goods 
carried  from  Yale  by  water  as  well  as  by  land,  and  was  nothing  more  than 
a  scheme  concocted  by  the  owners  of  the  goods  to  benefit  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  the  public  revenue, 

"  And  here  I  would  beg  to  correct  an  error  in  the  memorial  with  re- 
spect to  the  population  of  British  Columbia,  which  is  therein  given  at  7,000, 
exclusive  of  Indians,  making  an  annual  average  rate  of  taxation  of  £7  los 
per  head.  The  actual  population.  Chinamen  included,  is  about  10,000,  besides 
an  Indian  population  exceeding  20,000,  making  a  total  of  30,000,  which  re- 
duces the  taxation  to  £2-  per  head  instead  of  the  rate  given  in  the  memorial. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  all  the  white  population  are  adults,  and  tax-pay- 
ing— there  being  no  proportionate  number  of  women  or  children,  and  it  is 
a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  native  Indians  pay  no  taxes.  They  have, 
especially  in  the  gold  districts,  for  the  most  part,  abandoned  their  former 
pursuits  and  no  longer  provide  their  own  stores  of  food.  All  the  money 
they  make  by  their  labor,  either  by  hire  or  by  gold  digging,  is  expended  in 
the  country,  so  that  the  Indians  have  now  become  very  extensive  consumers 
of  foreign  articles.  Every  attention  has  been  given  to  render  Fraser  River 
safe  and  accessible ;  the  channels  have  been  carefully  surveyed  and  marked 
with  conspicuous  buoys;  and  foreign  vessels  may  go  direct  to  New  West- 
minster, without  calling  at  Victoria,  and  the  port  dues  are  the  same  whether 
the  vessels  clear  originally  from  Victoria  or  come  directly  from  foreign 
ports.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  more  perfect  equality  of  legislative  pro- 
tection than  is  given  to  these  ports. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  185 

"  I  have  had  applications,  under  various  pretexts,  from  almost  every 
trading  place  in  the  colony  for  remissions  of  duty,  and  I  have  steadily  resisted 
all  such  applications  on  the  ground  that  class  legislation  is  vicious  and  leads 
to  injustice  and  discontent.  It  is,  moreover,  very  doubtful  if  the  proposed 
remission  of  duty  on  shipbuilding  materials  would  advance  that  interest,  as 
long  as  the  timber  business  of  New  Westminster  is  a  monopoly  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  persons  who  keep  timber  at  an  unreasonably  high  price. 

"  With  respect  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  complaints  I  am  not  cognizant  of 
any  circumstances  affording  grounds  for  them.  I  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works,  whose  department  they  more  im- 
mediately^ affected,  and  I  forward  herewith  a  copy  of  that  officer's  report, 
from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  no  just  cause  exists  for  the  allegations  made. 

"  The  want  of  a  registry  office,  which  also  forms  a  subject  of  complaint, 
arises  solely  from  our  not  having  succeeded  in  maturing  the  details  of  a 
measure,  which  is,  I  feel,  replete  with  difficulties  of  no  ordinary  kind,  but 
that  measure,  providing  for  the  registration  of  real  estate,  will  be  passed  as 
soon  as  practicable. 

"  Before  concluding  this  dispatch,  I  shall  submit  a  few  observations  on 
the  financial  system  of  Vancouver  Island  in  contrast  with  that  of  British 
Columbia,  explanatory  of  their  distinctive  features  and  their  applicability  to 
the  colonies  respectively. 

"  The  public  revenue  of  Vancouver  Island  is  almost  derived  from  taxes 
levied  directly  on  persons  and  professions,  on  trades  and  real  estate,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  by  means  of  duties  and  imposts,  and  on  goods  carried  in- 
land, that  the  public  revenue  of  British  Columbia  is  chiefly  raised.  No  other 
plan  has  been  suggested  by  which  a  public  revenue  could  be  raised,  that  is  so 
perfectly  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  both  colonies,  or  that  could  be  sub- 
stituted or  applied  interchangeably  with  the  advantage  to  the  sister  colony. 
The  reasons  may  thus  be  stated:  The  low  price  and  bulky  productions  of 
Vancouver  Island  will  not  bear  the  cost  of  exportation  to  any  British  pos- 


186  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

session,  and  are  virtually  excluded  from  the  markets  of  the  Mother  Country 
by  the  distance  and  expense  of  the  voyage.  A  precisely  similar  result  is 
produced  through  the  almost  prohibitory  duties  levied  in  the  neighboring 
ports  of  Oregon  and  California;  the  former,  moreover,  abounding  in  all  the 
products  common  to  Vancouver  Island,  except  coal;  and  neither  being  in- 
ferior in  point  of  soil,  climate  or  any  physical  advantage.  Thus  practically 
debarred  from  commercial  intercourse  and  denied  a  market  for  its  produce, 
it  became  painfully  evident  that  the  colony  could  not  prosper,  nor  ever  be  a 
desirable  residence  for  white  settlers,  until  a  remunerative  outlet  was  found 
for  the  produce  of  their  labor.  It  was  that  state  of  things  that  originated 
the  idea  of  creating  a  home  market,  and  the  advantageous  position  of  Vic- 
toria suggested  free  trade  as  the  means,  which  was  from  henceforth  adopted 
as  a  policy — with  the  object  of  making  the  port  a  center  of  trade  and  popu- 
lation, and  ultimately  the  commercial  entrepot  of  the  North  Pacific.  That 
policy  was  initiated  several  years  previous  to  the  discovery  of  gold  in  British 
Columbia,  and  has  since  been  inflexibly  maintained.  Victoria  has  now 
grown  into  commercial  importance,  and  its  value  and  influence  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  Financially,  it  furnishes  four-fifths  of  the  public  revenue, 
it  absorbs  the  whole  surplus  produce  of  the  colony,  and  it  is  a  center  from 
whence  settlements  are  gradually  branching  out  into  the  interior  of  the 
island.  Thus  Victoria  has  become  the  center  of  population,  the  seat  of  trade, 
a  prospective  source  of  revenue,  and  a  general  market  for  the  country.  The 
settlements  are  all  compactly  situated  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles,  ex- 
cept those  which  are  accessible  by  sea ;  there  is,  therefore,  no  pressing  call  for 
large  expenditure  in  the  improvement  of  internal  communications.  Roads 
are  opened  where  required,  with  due  regard  and  in  proportion  to  the  means 
of  the  colony,  its  vital  interests  not  being  greatly  affected  by  any  avoidable 
delay. 

"  The  circumstances  of  British  Columbia  are  materially  different  from 
those  just  described.     That  colony  has  large  internal  resources,  which  only 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  187 

require  development  to  render  it  powerful  and  wealthy.  Its  extensive  gold 
fields  furnish  a  highly  remunerative  export,  and  are  rapidly  attracting  trade 
and  population.  Mining  has  become  a  valuable  branch  of  industry,  and 
essentially  the  vital  interest  of  the  colony;  it  hereto  has  been  my  unceasing 
policy  to  encourage  and  develop  that  interest.  The  laws  are  framed  in  the 
most  liberal  spirit,  studiously  relieving  miners  from  direct  taxation,  and 
vesting  in  the  m'ining  boards  a  general  power  to  amend  and  adapt  their  pro- 
visions to  the  special  circumstances  of  the  districts.  The  Government  has, 
moreover,  charged  itself  with  the  more  onerous  duties  in  furtherance  of  the 
same  object,  by  opening  roads  through  the  most  difficult  routes  into  all  parts 
of  the  country,  to  facilitate  transport  and  commerce,  and  to  enable  the  miner 
to  pursue  his  arduous  labors  with  success.  Three  lines  of  roads  have  been 
successfully  carried  through  the  last  range,  and  mining  districts  five  hundred 
miles  from  the  sea  have  been  rendered  accessible  by  routes  hitherto  unknown. 
The  extension  and  improvement  of  works  so  pressingly  required  and  in- 
dispensable to  the  improvement  and  development  of  the  country,  still  claims 
the  anxious  care  of  the  Government.  The  greatest  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  providing  funds  to  meet  the  necessarily  large  expenditure  on  those  works, 
and  that  object  was  accomplished  by  imposing  an  import  duty  on  goods,  as 
the  only  feasible  means  of  producing  a  revenue  adequate  to  the  public  exigen- 
cies. It  was  justly  supposed  that  any  tax  directly  levied  on  the  mining  popu- 
lation, would  lead  to  clamor  and  discontent,  without  being  productive  of 
revenue ;  whereas  the  indirect  tax  is  not  felt  as  a  burden,  and,  I  believe,  makes 
no  appreciable  difference  in  the  price  which  miners  have  to  pay  for  their  sup- 
plies. 

"  I  have  entered  into  the  foregoing  review  of  the  administrative  sys- 
tems adopted  in  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island,  in  answer  to  the 
assertion  of  the  memorialists,  that  every  exertion  is  made  to  stimulate  the 
progress  of  Vancouver  Island,  at  the  expense  of  British  Columbia,  and  to 


188  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

prove  that  my  measures  have  ever  been  calculated  to  promote,  to  the  fullest 
extent,  the  substantial  interests  of  both  colonies." 

The  Views  of  the  Home  Government. 

From  a  practical  point  of  view  the  foregoing  was  a  complete  answer  to 
the  memorialists,  and  yet  Sir  James  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  the 
times  was  completely  in  antagonism  to  his  attitude.  He  was  right,  and  yet 
he  failed  to  appreciate  that  nine-tenths  of  the  people  of  British  Columbia 
were  educated  in  the  school  of  popular  government.  Douglas  had  lived  his 
life  among  the  western  wilds  in  an  atmosphere  of  one-man  government,  per- 
fect and  absolute  in  its  mechanical  details,  but  wholly  out  of  harmony  with 
the  institutions  of  its  people.  It  was  as  perfectly  hopeless  to  expect  the  Im- 
perial Government  to  deny  British  Columbians  the  right  of  representative  gov- 
ernment as  it  was  foolish  and  suicidal  in  a  past  century  to  have  antagonized 
the  American  colonies  in  their  aspirations  for  greater  freedom  of  commerce. 
It  was,  therefore,  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  Home  Government  would 
grant  to  the  memorialists  their  request.  We  are  only  surprised  that  it  took 
two  years  for  Douglas  to  be  apprised  of  the  decision  of  the  authorities  to 
make  important  changes  in  the  system  of  administration  in  British  Colum- 
bia. In  a  dispatch  dated  May  26th,  1863,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  informed 
Douglas  that  the  act  for  the  government  of  British  Columbia  would  expire 
in  a  year  and  that  it  was  proposed  to  make  provision  for  a  Legislative  Council 
and  for  separate  governors  for  the  colonies  of  British  Columbia  and  Van- 
couver Island.  It  was,  however,  made  plain  that  the  Home  authorities  had 
in  mind  the  union  of  the  two  colonies  as  soon  as  public  sentiment  was  pre- 
pared for  it.  The  Duke'of  Newcastle  expressed  confidence  that  economy  and 
efficiency  would  be  promoted,  that  commerce  would  be  facilitated,  that  politi- 
cal capacity  would  be  developed,  that  the  strength  of  the  colonies  would  be 
consolidated,  and  that  generally  their  well-being  would  be  greatly  advanced 
by  union.     The  representations  made  by  Governor  Douglas,  had,  however, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  189 

considerable  weight  in  Downing  Street,  because,  the  dispatch  went  on  to  say, 
that  while  the  authorities  would  have  been  pleased  to  give  British  Columbia 
the  same  representative  institutions  which  existed  in  Vancouver  Island,  it 
was  felt  that  that  under  present  conditions  would  be  impossible.  Some  of  the 
circumstances  referred  to  by  Douglas  were  recited. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,"  His  Grace  remarked,  "  I  see  no  mode 
of  establishing  a  purely  representative  legislature,  which  would  not  be  open 
to  one  of  two  objections.  Either  it  must  place  the  Government  of  the  colony 
under  the  exclusive  control  of  a  small  circle  of  persons,  naturally  occupied 
with  their  own  local,  personal  or  class  interests,  or  it  must  confide  a  large 
amount  of  political  power  to  immigrant,  or  other  transient  foreigners,  who 
have  no  permanent  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  colony. 

"  For  these  reasons  I  think  it  necessary  that  the  government  should  re- 
tain, for  the  present,  a  preponderating  influence  in  the  Legislature.  From  the 
best  information  I  can  obtain,  I  am  disposed  to  think  it  most  advisable,  that 
about  one-third  of  the  Council  should  consist  of  the  Colonial  Secretary  and 
other  officers,  who  generally  compose  the  Executive  Council;  about  one-third 
of  magistrates  from  different  parts  of  the  colony;  and  about  one-third  of 
persons  elected  by  the  residents  of  the  different  electoral  districts.  But  here 
I  am  met  by  the  difficulty  that  these  residents  are  not  only  few  and  scattered, 
but  (like  the  foreign  gold  diggers)  migratory  and  unsettled,  and  that  any 
definition  of  electoral  districts  now  made,  might,  in  the  lapse  of  a  few  months, 
become  wholly  inapplicable  to  the  state  of  the  colony.  It  would,  therefore, 
be  trifling  to  attempt  such  a  definition,  nor  am  I  disposed  to  rely  on  any  un- 
tried contrivance  which  might  be  suggested  for  supplying  its  place — con- 
trivances which  depend  for  their  success  on  a  variety  of  circumstances,  which, 
with  my  present  information,  I  cannot  safely  assume  to  exist. 

"  By  what  exact  process  this  quasi-representation  shall  be  accomplished, 
whether  by  ascertaining  informally  the  sense  of  the  residents  in  each  locality, 
or  by  bringing  the  question  before  public  meetings,  or  (as  is  done  in  Ceylon) 


190  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

by  accepting  the  nominee  of  any  corporate  body  or  society,  I  leave  you  to 
determine.  What  I  desire  is  this,  that  a  system  of  virtual  though  imperfect 
representation  shall  at  once  be  introduced,  which  shall  enable  Her  Majesty's 
Government  to  ascertain,  with  some  certainty,  the  character,  wants  and  dis- 
position of  the  community  with  a  view  to  the  more  formal  and  complete  es- 
tablishment of  a  representative  system,  as  circumstances  shall  admit  of  it. 
*  *  *  With  these  explanations,  I  have  to  instruct  you  first  to  proclaim 
a  law  securing  to  Her  Majesty  the  right  to  allot  the  above  salaries  to  the  of- 
ficials of  British  Columbia;  and,  having  done  so,  to  give  publicity  to  the  en- 
closed Order-in-Council  and  to  convene  as  soon  as  possible,    the    proposed 

Legislature." 

The  Pioneer  Legislature. 

And  a  Legislative  Council  on  the  lines  indicated  in  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle's despatch  was  convened.  It  consisted  of  officials  of  the  colony,  of 
magistrates  and  of  elected  representatives  in  about  equal  numbers.  The 
first  council  came  into  existence  in  1863  and  sat  for  the  year  1864.  The 
members  were:  The  Hon.  Arthur  Birch,  Colonial  Secretary;  Hon.  Henry 
P.  P.  Crease  (afterwards  Sir  Henry),  Attorney-General;  Hon.  Wymond 
O.  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs;  Hon.  Chartres  Brew,  Magistrate,  New 
Westminster;  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly,  Magistrate,  Cariboo  East;  Hon.  E.  H. 
Sanders,  Magistrate,  Yale;  Hon.  H.  M.  Ball,  Magistrate,  Lytton;  Hon.  J.  R. 
Homer,  New  Westminster;  Hon.  Robt.  T.  Smith,  Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton; 
Hon.  Henry  Holbrook,  Douglas  and  Lillooet;  Hon.  James  Orr,  Cariboo 
East;  Hon.  Walter  S.  Black,  Cariboo  West;  Mr.  Chas.  Goode,  who  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Sir  James  Douglas,  was  clerk  or  secretary  of  the  Council. 

Of  these  pioneer  legislators,  two  are  still  living;  so  also  is  the  Clerk, 
Hon.  Mr.  Hamley,  for  some  years  Collector  of  Customs  at  Victoria  after  the 
union  of  the  colonies,  is  in  retirement  at  the  capital;  Hon.  Arthur  N.  Birch, 
subsequent  to  his  leaving  British  Columbia,  was  appointed  to  an  important 
position  in  Ceylon,  was  knighted,  and  is  now  living  in  London,  England, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  191 

as  agent  of  the  Bank  of  England.  Mr,  Goode  is  living  in  England.  Four 
of  the  number  died  within  a  year  of  the  writing,  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly,  who 
was  for  many  years  Indian  Commissioner  for  the  province;  Sir  Henry  P.  P. 
Crease,  who  was  knighted  after  retiring  from  the  Supreme  Court  Bench; 
Hon.  E.  H.  Sanders,  in  California,  and  Hon.  James  Orr,  the  last  of  the 
number  to  be  laid  away.  Lt.  Col.  R.  Wolfenden,  who  was  Queen's  printer 
in  those  days  and  the  first  to  serve  Her  Majesty  in  that  capacity  in  British 
Columbia,  is  still  in  harness,  the  only  difference  being  that  he  is  printer  to  His 
Majesty  instead  of  Her  Majesty.  The  others  have  long  been  memories 
among  the  shades  of  the  band  of  pioneers,  who  left  this  coast  for  the  shores 
of  the  hereafter. 

About  this  time  took  place  an  event  of  some  note.  The  terms  of  office 
of  James  Douglas  as  Governor  of  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia, 
respectively,  expired  almost  concurrently,  they  being  but  a  few  months  apart. 
Those  few  months  remaining  of  his  term  in  British  Columbia  he  de- 
cided to  spend  in  New  Westminster,  to  which  place  he  removed  in  the  fall 
of  1863.  He  was  the  recipient  of  many  marks  of  esteem  and  respect  on  the 
part  of  the  citizens  of  both  the  Island  and  the  Mainland,  from  whom  he 
received  testimonials  and  by  whom  he  was  banquetted.  In  addition  to  that, 
however,  his  services  in  his  public  capacity  were  rewarded  by  the  distinction 
of  knighthood,  the  first  recipient  of  such  a  title  on  the  Pacific  coast;  and 
here,  perhaps,  is  the  place  for  a  word  as  to  the  qualities  and  qualifications  of 
the  founder  of  the  most  westerly  province  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  The 
editor  of  the  British  Colonist  at  the  time  the  official  news  of  knighthood 
was  received,  who  was  no  less  than  Amor  de  Cosmos,  a  strong  opponent  of 
the  government  as  administered  by  Sir  James — and  a  remarkable  man  in 
his  way — had  this  to  say :  "  If  we  have  opposed  the  measures  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, we  have  never  in  our  public  acts  of  the  executive  head  of  that 
Government  failed  in  our  esteem  for  the  sterling  honesty  of  purpose  which 


192  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

has  guided  those  acts,  nor  for  the  manly  and  noble  qualities  and  virtues 
which  adorn  the  man." 

Sir  James  Douglas. 

Sir  James  was,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  man  that  has  appeared  in 
the  public  arena  in  the  province  of  British  Columbia.  A  Scotchman  by 
descent  through  the  line  of  the  Black  Douglas,  educated  in  Scotland,  and 
associated  for  his  earlier  years  with  the  members  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, who  were  his  countrymen,  he  both  inherited  and  acquired  many  of 
those  distinguishing  characteristics  which  seem  to  reflect  the  ruggedness  and 
strength  of  their  native  mountains,  and  much  of  the  picturesqueness  and 
charm  of  Caledonian  scenery.  Sir  James  Douglas  was  a  large  man  physically 
and  mentally.  He  had  strength  alike  of  physique  and  character.  Although 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  sought  the  wilds  of  the  Northwest  in  the  employ  of 
a  fur  company,  he  had  had  a  liberal  education,  and  throughout  his  career 
he  aimed  to  increase  his  stock  of  knowledge  and  increase  his  accomplish- 
ments. He  retained  and  strengthened  the  moral  rectitude  of  his  youth.  In 
his  principles  he  represented  the  old-fashioned  punctiliousness  in  regard  to 
details  of  all  kinds,  with  progressive  and  far-seeing  views  of  business  and 
public  policy.  He  combined  a  genius  for  business  with  a  love  of  nature, 
of  family,  of  literature,  of  devotion.  His  love  of  order,  his  respect  for 
the  conventionalities  of  office,  his  becoming  self-respect,  gave  rather  too 
much  the  impression  of  pompous  display  and  an  assertion  of  superiority, 
both  of  which  were  foreign  to  his  nature.  Sir  James  loved  to  magnify  the 
office,  but  not  the  man.  He  was  a  strong,  masterful  man,  with  the  faults 
that  such  men  have — ^a  tendency  to  rule  with  too  firm  a  hand,  to  brook  no 
opposition,  to  be  perhaps  overbearing,  traits  which  were  developed  unusu- 
ally under  the  one-man  rule  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  necessary 
in  the  conditions  under  which  that  wonderful  corporation  carried  on  its 
operations  over  a  vast  extent  of  the  New  World.     He  had  a  good  mastery 


^At^*t>c^ 


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\:  1  V,  ('I 


■'  ('  .VI  i:  II 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  193 

of  French,  which  he  spoke  fluently  with  a  correct  accent ;  had  a  wide  knowl- 
edge of  history  and  political  economy;  conversed  with  ease  and  entertain- 
ingly; rose  early  and  rode  and  walked  a  great  deal;  was  tenderly  devoted 
to  his  family;  was  constant  in  religions  exercises;  assiduous  in  the  perform- 
ance of  official  duties ;  and  generally  was  a  man  who  acted  well  his  part  in 
life  and  did  honor  to  his  high  position  in  the  state.  Of  splendid  physical 
proportions  and  herculean  strength,  he  had  an  imposing  presence.  He  pos- 
sessed the  quality  of  personal  m.agnetism  in  a  high  degree,  and  exercised 
corresponding  influence  with  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  Cool, 
calculating  and  cautious,  he  was  also  courageous  and  prompt  to  act,  com- 
bining the  dominating  characteristics  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  Celt.  When  he 
retired  he  still  possessed  considerable  vigor  of  mind  and  body,  and  might 
still  have  continued  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  country; 
but  he  had  probably  reached  that  stage  in  the  development  of  the  province 
at  which  he  was  more  in  spirit  with  the  past  than  the  present,  where  others 
more  in  harmony  with  new  conditions  would  rule  with  greater  acceptance 
to  the  people.  He  had  acted  a  part  in  affairs  that  redounded  highly  to  his 
credit  and  to  the  welfare  of  a  budding  colony,  with  tact,  intelligence,  rare 
ability,  and  high  conception  of  and  conscientious  application  to  duty.  Had 
his  early  training  been  in  the  field  of  politics  and  his  lot  been  cast  in  a  wider 
and  more  important  sphere  he  could  have  and  undoubtedly  would  have 
taken  a  place  in  history.  He  had  the  qualifications  which  make  men  of  mark. 
In  estimating  him  as  a  man  and  as  an  official  we  must  judge  him  by  the 
success  he  achieved  in  the  sphere  in  which  he  moved.  His  record  in  that 
respect  was  the  best  possible. 

When  he  retired  from  public  life,  accepting  his  well-earned  honors,  he 
visited  his  native  land.  He  went  to  England  by  way  of  Panama,  and  after 
spending  some  time  in  Great  Britain,  visited  the  continent,  through  the 
countries  of  which  he  made  a  leisurely  circuit,  and  returned  to  his  adopted 
and  ultimate  home  in  British  Columbia,  for  which  he  had  an  ardent  attach- 


194  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

ment,  after  about  a  year's  absence.  His  impressions  of  bis  travels,  as  re- 
corded in  bis  journal,  are  most  interesting  readingf  and  tbrow  many  luminous 
side-ligbts  on  bis  cbaracter  and  qualities.  He  lived  in  retirement  witb  his 
family  in  Victoria  until  August  2nd,  1877,  upon  wbicb  day  deatb  came  as 
a  hasty  and  unexpected  messenger  to  call  him  to  his  final  home.  He  lives 
gratefully  in  the  memory  of  the  older  inhabitants  of  the  province.  He  is 
also  remembered  by  a  monument  of  stone  in  the  grounds  of  the  Parliament 
buildings  at  the  capital,  and  his  statue  occupies  a  niche  at  one  side  of  their 
main  entrance,  a  corresponding  niche  being  filled  by  another  commanding 
figure,  that  of  the  late  Sir  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie,  whose  selection  to  bracket 
with  that  of  Sir  James  was  wisely  made  by  the  designers  of  that  splendid 
structure,  adorning  the  sward  "  across  James  Bay." 

Sir  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie. 

Sir  Matthew  was  one  of  the  remarkable  characters,  and  a  notable 
figure,  of  British  Columbia  history.  He  was  Chief  Justice  from  his  appoint- 
ment in  1859  until  the  day  of  his  death,  June  nth,  1894.  Even  a  brief 
outline  of  the  founding  and  development  of  the  western  province  of  Canada 
would  be  incomplete  without  a  pen  sketch  of  a  man  who  so  strongly  im- 
pressed his  character  upon  the  administration  of  justice,  notable  for  its 
completeness  and  effectiveness  at  a  tirne  when  firmness  was  most  needed. 
This  is  furnished  by  the  late  Sir  Henry  Crease,  for  many  years  a  colleague 
on  the  bench : 

"  Accompanied  by  his  faithful  henchman,  Benjamin  Evans,  who  drove 
the  Court  over  twenty  times  from  Yale  or  Ashcroft  (after  the  C.  P.  R. 
reached  it)  to  Cariboo  and  back  without  an  accident,  and  his  trusty  friend, 
Charles  Edward  Pooley,  as  Registrar,  he  traversed  the  province  wherever 
it  was  necessary  in  the  interests  of  law  or  justice  to  go.  His  unflinching 
administration  of  the  law  from  the  outset  of  the  colony  in  1858  to  his  death 
in  1894,  at  a  time  when — mixed  with  a  great  many  good  men,  it  is  true — 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  195 

the  miners  and  the  class  of  men  who  came  with  them  comprised  many  of 
the  wildest  characters  under  the  sun,  whose  sole  arbitrament  in  their  quar- 
rels in  other  countries  had  been  knife  and  revolver,  struck  such  terror  into 
wrong-doers  and  defiers  of  the  law  from  his  first  assize  at  Langley  in.  1859, 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  that  the  peace  of  the  country  was  thoroughly  se- 
cured— and  the  wilder  spirits  were  tamed  to  such  an  extent  that  even  in 
difficult  cases  the  court  relied  confidently  on  their  assistance  under  a  short 
special  enactment,  as  jurors,  and  was  never  disappointed  of  their  aid  when 
so  invoked.  Tlie  result  was  that  the  whole  of  the  country  could  be  traversed 
from  end  to  end  by  all  men  without  weapons,  except  sufficient  to  protect 
themselves  from  wild  animals  or  for  subsistence — a  course  in  which  he  was 
effectually  supported  from  first  to  last  by  all  the  judges  who  sat  with  or 
have  succeeded  him,  to  the  great  benefit,  as  the  statute  hath  it,  of  person 
and  property  and  the  peace,  order,  and  good  government  of  the  colony.  He 
was  a  man  over  six  feet  (six  feet  four)  in  height,  strong,  and  active  in 
proportion,  a  good  sportsman  and  an  excellent  shot.  His  abilities  and  his 
accomplishments  were  of  the  highest  order,  and  his  hospitality  and  his  social 
qualities  gained  him  fast  friends  in  every  direction.  So  take  him  for  all 
in  all  we  shall  not  often  lock  upon  his  like  again." 

Union  and  the  Capital. 

Really  Douglas  did  not  lay  down  the  reins  of  office  until  the  spring  of 
1864,  when  his  successors  arrived — Arthur  Kennedy  as  Governor  of  Van- 
couver Island,  in  March,  and  Frederick  Seymour,  formerly  Governor  of  Brit- 
ish Honduras,  in  April,  as  Governor  of  British  Columbia.  The  decision  to 
appoint  separate  Governors  for  the  colonies  was  in  deference  to  local  feeling 
on  the  Mainland.  Governor  Douglas,  of  course,  had  his  official  residence  in 
Victoria,  where  he  and  his  family  had  always  resided  since  their  removal  from 
Fort  Vancouver ;  and  the  other  leading  officials  of  British  Columbia  also  pre- 
ferred to  live  in  Victoria.     As  might  be  expected  it  constituted  a  grievance 


196  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

on  the  part  of  the  people  of  New  Westminster,  then  the  leading  and  prac- 
tically the  only  town  of  any  importance  on  the  Mainland.  Sectional  feeling 
was  even  then  strong;  it  was  still  more  embittered  subsequently,  and  has  not 
completely  died  out  until  the  present  day.  With  the  division  of  the  governor- 
ship was  linked  a  permanent  and  definite  basis  for  the  civil  list  for  both  col- 
onies. With  the  arrangement  for  separate  governors  and  separate  civil  lists 
was  associated  the  desire  expressed  on  the  part  of  the  Imperial  authorities  to 
see  the  colonies  united  under  one  government,  and  upon  this  point  the  views 
of  both  Governors  Kennedy  and  Seymour  were  sought. 

In  considering  the  question  of  union,  it  may  be  stated  briefly  that  the 
majority  of  people  on  the  Island  of  Vancouver,  and  especially  in  Victoria, 
were  in  favor  of  it.  The  majority  of  residents  of  the  Upper  Mainland,  who 
as  a  rule  had  their  starting  point  at  Victoria,  and  who  when  they  came  to  the 
coast  wintered  there,  were  also  in  favor  of  the  Island  capital.  It  was  the 
centre  of  business  and  government  at  that  time,  and  was  then  as  it  is  now  a 
very  desirable  place  of  residence.  The  Lower  Mainland,  however,  and  in 
particular,  the  city  of  New  Westminster,  was  opposed  to  the  proposed  union. 
As  to  which  place  should  be  the  capital  was  really  at  the  bottom  of  the  issue, 
and  even  when  not  brought  into  the  discussion  was  ever  present  in  the  minds 
of  both  parties.  New  Westminster  feared,  owing  to  the  larger  jxDpulation, 
greater  influence  and  enhanced  attractions  of  Victoria,  that  it  would  be 
chosen,  and  the  people  of  Victoria  for  similar  reasons  were,  confidently  hope- 
ful that  it  would  be.  Governor  Kennedy  reports  the  majority  of  the  House 
of  Assembly  of  Vancouver  Island  as  "  in  favor  of  unconditional  union  with 
British  Columbia,"  and  while  the  Legislative  Council  did  not  care  to  express 
an  opinion,  he  was  nevertheless  in  a  position  to  state  that  nearly  all,  if  not 
all  of  the  ex-oMcio  members  were  also  in  favor.  He  avoided  the  question  of 
the  location  of  the  capital,  but  stated  that  "  I  have  abstained  from  expressing 
any  public  opinion,  or  exercising  any  influence  I  may  possess,  in  encouraging 
this  movement,  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  expression  of  the  former  and 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  197 

legitimate  use  of  the  latter,  if  acquiesced  in  by  Governor  Seymour,  would 
immediately  remove  all  serious  opposition  to  a  union  of  these  colonies,  which 
I  consider  a  matter  of  great  Imperial,  as  well  as  colonial  interest." 

Governor  Seymour's  views  of  the  subject  are  somewhat  in  doubt.  In 
a  despatch  to  the  Home  Government,  he  expresses  the  opinion  that  union 
with  Vancouver  Island  is  not  desired  in  British  Columbia,  His  sympathies 
were  entirely  with  the  city,  where  he  had  his  official  residence.  He  says : 
"  In  the  event  of  union  taking  place,  a  question  which  will  locally  excite  some 
interest  is  as  to  the  seat  of  government.  Victoria  is  the  largest  town  of  the 
two  colonies,  and  is,  in  many  respects,  the  most  agreeable  place  of  residence. 
I  think,  however,  in  seeking  union  with  British  Columbia,  she  relinquishes  all 
claims  to  the  possession  within  her  limits  of  the  seat  of  government.  New 
Westminster  has  been  chosen  as  the  capital  of  British  Columbia,  and  it  would 
not  be  fair  to  the  reluctant  colony  to  deprive  her  of  the  Governor  and  staff 
officers.  Both  of  these  towns  are  inconveniently  situated  on  an  angle  of 
the  vast  British  territory;  but  New  Westminster  on  the  Mainland,  has  the 
advantage  over  the  island  town.  It  is  already  the  centre  of  the  telegraphic 
system,  and  is  in  constant  communication  with  the  upper  country,  whereas 
the  steamers  to  Victoria  only  run  twice  a  week.  The  seat  of  government 
should  be  on  the  Mainland;  whether  it  might  with  advantage  be  brought, 
hereafter,  nearer  to  the  gold  mines  is  a  question  for  the  future."  It  may  be 
interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  years  after,  when  the  colony  of 
British  Columbia  had  become  a  province  of  the  Dominion  and  the  question 
of  erecting  the  present  new  Parliament  buildings  was  before  the  country,  a 
suggestion  was  strongly  supported  in  the  upper  country  that  the  capital  should 
be  removed  to  Kamloops,  as  being  strategically  safer  in  case  of  war  and 
more  central.  Doubtless,  Kamloops,  in  a  period  of  hostility,  would  afford 
the  necessary  security,  and  would  be  a  delightful  site  for  a  capitol  building, 
but  considering  the  vast  extent  of  territory  to  the  northward  opening  up  and 
to  be  opened  by  railways,  it  would  be  anything  but  a  central  location.    Future 


198  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

g-enerations  will  probably  agree  that,  taking  all   in   all,  Victoria  was  well 
chosen  for  the  purpose. 

The  subject  of  union  continued  to  be  a  live  issue,  for  a  time  practically 
the  only  public  issue  of  importance.  There  were  petitions  and  counter  peti- 
tions. Finally,  union,  strongly  supported  by  the  Imperial  authorities,  took 
place  and  went  into  effect  on  the  17th  of  November,  1866.  The  matter  of 
the  selection  of  a  capital,  however,  was  not  then  settled.  Governor  Seymour 
strongly  opposed  Victoria,  and  did  not  withdraw  his  opposition  until  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Home  Government  was  clearly  defined  and  he  advised  the  Legis- 
lative Council  in  1868  to  come  to  a  decision  and  to  assist  him  in  so  doing. 
The  decision  was  in  favor  of  Victoria,  where  the  first  united  Parliament  of 
British  Columbia  sat  in  that  year,  and  continued  to  sit  for  ever  afterwards. 
Governor  Seymour  stated  in  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  Legislative 
Council  in  the  year  referred  to  that  Her  Majesty's  Government  was  of  the 
opinion  that  he  had  held  an  extreme  view  as:  to  the  extent  to  which  the  public 
faith  and  honor  are  pledged  to  the  purchasers  of  land  in  New  Westminster. 
Undoubtedly  a  great  many  persons  had  been  induced  to  buy  property  in  New 
Westminster  on  the  strength  of  its  being  selected  as  the  capital  of  a  new 
colony,  but  upon  the  union  of  the  two  colonies,  which  was  without  any  doubt 
advantageous  from  many  points  of  view,  it  was  necessary  to  select  or  reject 
one  of  the  two  capitals.  Victoria  at  the  time  was  by  far  the  most  important 
point  of  the  two,  and  the  Home  Government  regarded  "  public  convenience 
as  the  main  guide  in  the  selection  of  a  seat  of  government."  Sir  Henry 
Crease  states  that  "  those  who  on  the  faith  of  the  royal  proclamation  staked 
their  all  were  simply  ruined,  without  redress  or  compensation,  leaving  behind 
a  wound  and  a  sense  of  deliberate  injustice  in  the  minds  of  the  Mainland 
against  the  Island  that  has  never  been  entirely  healed,  although  the  reason 
given  that  it  was  necessary  to  consolidate  not  only  to  save  the  unnecessary 
expense  of  two  governments  and  two  sets  of  officers  where  one  would  do, 
especially  to  prepare  for  Confederation,  was  not  without  great  weight." 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  199 

The  question  of  Confederation  with  Canada  was  also  mixed  up  with 
that  of  union  of  the  two  colonies  and  the  fixing-  of  a  place  as  capital.  At 
the  very  time  when  an  effort  was  being  made  to  unite  British  Columbia  and 
Vancouver  Island  on  the  Pacific  coast,  a  similar  movement  was  on  foot  on 
the  Atlantic  side  of  the  continent  to  bring  together  in  one  federation  the  sep- 
arate British  colonies  there.  Though  far  removed  from  the  old  Canadas  and 
separated  by  almost  insuperable  physical  obstacles,  the  sentiment  of  the  east 
began  to  be  reflected  in  the  west,  more  especially  as  the  scheme  of  Confedera- 
tion completed  in  1867  made  provision  for  the  bringing  in  of  British  Co- 
lumbia, and  we  shall  tell  in  the  next  chapter  how  that  was  brought  about.* 

Story  of   Confederation. 

Confederation  came  about  in  a  way  in  British  Columbia  entirely  different 
from  that  in  any  of  the  other  provinces.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  review  the 
events  which  led  up  to  the  union  of  four  provinces  in  1867.  Although  the 
Maritime  Provinces  wanted  an  alliance  of  their  own,  they  did  not  take  kindly 
to  one  with  Canadians,  as  the  inhabitants  of  Ontario  and  Quebec  were  then 
exclusively  known,  and  it  was  only  by  political  strategy  that  it  was  accom- 
plished in  the  case  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  while  Prince  Edward 
Island  remained  out  for  some  time  after.  Quebec  at  heart  was  not  with  the 
movement,  although  she  joined  hands  with  Ontario,  having  first  fixed  her 
representation.  Manitoba  cost  the  Dominion  a  rebellion.  Her  entry  into 
the  Federal  compact  was  badly  managed,  and  an  unnecessary  grievance  cre- 
ated, which  prejudiced  the  cause  for  the  time  being.  In  the  east  Confed- 
eration arose  largely  out  of  a  sentiment  of  unity.  It  was  an  idea — a  grand 
consummation  into  the  accomplishment  of  which  the  leaders  of  both  parties 
entered  with  enthusiasm.     There  were  many  diverse  elements  and  interests 

*  The  story  of  Confederation  as  given  in  the  following  pages  was  first  prepared 
ill  1896,  and  was  published  in  the  Vancouyer  World,  and  subsequently  in  the  Year  Book 
of  British  Columbia.  It  is  a  very  necessary  part  of  the  narrative,  in  fact,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  im.portant  in  the  history  of  the  Province.  As  the  author  feels  that 
he  has  given  his  best  efforts  to  it.  and  cannot  hope  to  materially  improve  it,  the 
chapter  has  been  carefully  revised  and   reproduced. 


200  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

to  consider,  many  difficulties  in  the  way,  but  there  were  also  many  obvious 
disadvantages  in  remaining  apart ;  and  when  the  fathers  of  Confederation  had 
made  up  their  minds  to  succeed  and  went  seriously  to  work,  the  difficulties 
were  soon  overcome.  It  was  an  experiment  at  first,  and  no  man  could  con- 
fidently predict  the  outcome.  There  were  local  irritations,  provincial  preju- 
dices and  weighty  obligations  to  make  good.  For  a  time  not  a  few  able, 
conscientious  and  truly  loyal  men,  who  subsequently  became  good  Canadians 
and  heartily  acquiesced,  looked  on  with  misgivings  and  gravely  doubted  the 
wisdom  of  the  experiment.  If,  however,  the  British  possessions  in  North 
America  were  to  remain  British,  Confederation  was  inevitable.  Amalgama- 
tion and  structural  organization  were  rapidly  going  on  on  the  United  States 
side  of  the  line,  and  such  a  political  force  could  only  be  counterbalanced  and 
restricted  by  a  similar  movement  on  this  side.  In  the  east,  therefore,  as  has 
been  intimated,  the  stimulus  to  Confederation  was  political  and  national, 
and  was  so  in  spite  of  local  considerations.  Manitoba,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  a  territorial  purchase,  and  was  virtually  created  at  the  time  of  its  union 
with  the  other  provinces,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  community  of  Metis, 
whose  fears  were  inspired  by  an  ambitious  zealot,  abetted  by  a  few  American 
citizens,  there  would  have  been  nothing  either  in  the  way  of  local  interests  or 
sentimental  objections  to  have  interfered. 

In  British  Columbia  the  conditions  were  entirely  different  from,  and 
the  considerations  of  a  nature  totally  unlike  those  which  affected  the  eastern 
half  of  Canada.  Geographically,  the  Crown  Colony  was  far  removed  from 
the  seat  of  Government.  An  almost  insuperable  barrier  of  mountains  cut  it 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  British  possessions.  A  vast,  unbroken  and  prac- 
tically uninhabited  plain  separated  it  from  the  nearest  province.  Politically 
or  socially,  the  influences  of  Eastern  Canada  did  not  extend  to  within  a  thou- 
sand miles  of  its  extremest  boundary  eastward.  There  was  absolutely  no 
land  communication,  and,  apart  from  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fur  caravans, 
only  one  or  two  parties  had  ever  come  overland.     There  were  comparatively 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  201 

few  Canadian-born  residents,  and  these  were  mainly  among  the  pioneers  who 
had  left  their  native  place  while  Confederation  sentiment  was  still  in  its  in- 
fancy, and  who  had  formed  new  associations,  and,  to  some  extent,  new  ideals 
and  objects  in  life.  The  population  was  largely  British-born,  with  not  a  few 
Americans  interspersed.  The  country,  in  its  physical  configuration,  its  re- 
sources, its  requirements,  was  in  every  sense  foreign  to  Canada.  Communi- 
cation and  trade  were  wholly  with  the  Pacific  Coast  and  Great  Britain,  and 
sympathies  to  a  considerable  extent  followed  in  the  line  of  trade  and  travel. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  there  was  an  important  element 
opposed  to  Confederation  at  the  outset. 

The  mainspring,  however,  was  not  sentimentalism.  It  was  not  with  the 
idea  of  rounding  off  Confederation,  or  building  up  a  commonwealth  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  with  a  common  organic  structure  and  a  common  destiny — 
nothing  of  the  kind.  While  there  were  prominent  men  in  the  colony,  like 
the  late  Hon.  John  Robson,  F.  J.  Barnard,  and  the  Hon.  Amor  de  Cosmos, 
who  hailed  from  Canada,  and  who  were  no  doubt  imbued  with  aspirations  of 
a  kind  that  directed  the  movement  in  the  east,  yet  the  mass  of  the  population 
was  not  influenced  by  such  considerations,  and  that  was  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world.  It  could  not  have  been  expected  to  be  otherwise.  Dr. 
Helmcken,  who  opposed  Confederation  conscientiously  as  well  as  ably,  during 
the  debate  to  go  into  committee  on  the  terms  submitted  by  Governor  Mus- 
grave,  said  with  much  force  that  "  No  union  between  this  colony  and  Canada 
can  permanently  exist  unless  it  be  to  the  material  and  pecuniary  advantage 
of  this  colony  to  remain  in  the  Union.  The  sum  of  the  interests  of  the  in- 
habitants is  the  interest  of  the  colony.  The  people  of  this  colony  have,  gen- 
erally speaking,  no  love  for  Canada.  They  care,  as  a  rule,  little  or  nothing 
about  the  creation  of  another  empire,  kingdom  or  republic.  They  have  but 
little  sentimentality,  and  care  little  or  nothing  about  the  distinctions  between 
the  form  of  Government  of  Canada  and  that  of  the  United  States.  There- 
fore, no  union  on  account  of  love  need  be  looked  for.     The  only  bond  of 


202  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

union,  outside  of  force — and  force  the  Dominion  has  not — ^will  be  the  ma- 
terial advantage  of  the  country  and  pecuniary  benefit  of  the  inhabitants.  Love 
for  Canada  has  to  be  acquired  by  the  prosperity  of  the  country  and  from  our 
children." 

Dr.  Helmcken  did  not  represent  the  feelings  of  British  Columbia  in 
so  far  as  the  desire  for  Confederation  was  concerned.  To  rightly  under- 
stand the  feelings  of  the  people  on  the  subject  we  have  to  go  back  to  the 
conditions  of  the  time.  The  situation  has  already  been  described,  which 
in  one  word,  in  relation  to  Canada,  was  isolation.  The  circumstances, 
however,  were  these:  The  Province  was  heavily  in  debt,  the  liabilities  being 
around  $1,500,000  for  about  10,000  white  people.  The  after  effects  of  the 
Cariboo  gold  fever  were  being  experienced.  Prosperity  had  vanished,  times 
were  depressed,  money  was  scarce,  and  there  were  no  prospects  ahead  except 
the  chance  of  new  gold  fields  being  discovered.  A  great  many  people  de- 
plored the  loss  of  a  free  port,  to  which  they  attributed  a  good  deal  of  their 
former  prosperity.  On  the  Mainland,  w-here  the  Confederation  movement 
was  the  strongest,  there  existed  a  keen  dissatisfaction  over  the  removal  of 
the  capital  from  Westminster.  And  so  all  around  there  was  a  desire  for 
change.  As  a  Crown  Colony  there  were  only  two  roads  open  which  offered 
any  hopes  of  betterment — Confederation  or  Annexation.  While  there  was 
a  slight  movement  in  the  latter  direction,  and  a  petition  had  been  gotten  up 
in  its  favor,  signed  mainly  by  Americans ;  and,  while  there  was  a  modicum 
of  truth  in  what  Dr.  Helmxken  said  about  the  majority  of  people  caring 
little  about  the  distinctions  as  to  the  form  of  government  of  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  yet  British  Columbia  was  essentially  loyal  to  British  insti- 
tutions and  to  the  British  flag.  As  a  political  possibility  annexation  was 
not  to  be  thought  of,  and  the  sentiments  expressed  by  the  fathers  of  Confed- 
eration in  British  Columbia,  in  the  debate  referred  to,  showed  to  what 
small  extent  the  annexation  movement  had  influenced  public  opinion;  union 
with  Canada,  if  it  meant  no  more  than  continued  connection  with  the  mother 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  203 

country,  in  that  respect  was  unobjectionable  at  least.    It  was,  in  fact,  prefer- 
able to  annexation.    Isolation  seemed  to  be  hopeless  and  unendurable.    Change 

was  necessary. 

The  C.  p.  R.  as  a  Factor. 

For  some  years  before,  the  subject  of  a  trans-continental  railway  ha*d  been 
much  discussed,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  Canada,  and  with  the  writings  of 
prominent  men  on  this  subject  British  Columbians  were  familiar;  because, 
as  a  class  they  were  educated,  intelligent  and  well-informed — highly  superior 
to  any  similar  number  of  m.en  in  the  other  provinces — a  fact  easily  accounted 
for.  Many  were  graduates  of  universities  and  well  connected,  a  select  com- 
pany of  adventurers,  so  to  speak.  A  railway  from  ocean  to  ocean  was  a 
popular  theme.  It  opened  up  new  vistas  of  possibilities  not  only  for  Can- 
ada, but  the  Empire.  To  Canadians  it  meant  a  chain  to  bind  the  discon- 
nected British  possessions  together;  it  meant  an  outlet  to  and  inlet  from 
the  West;  it  disclosed  a  new  Dominion  of  great  magnitude  and  promise. 
It  was  a  subject  brimful  of  opportunity  for  the  eloquence  of  oratory  and 
the  pen-picturing  of  the  essayist.  To  Great  Britain  it  afforded  that  alterna- 
tive route  of  commerce  long  sought  for  in  the  North-West  passage,  for 
the  discovery  of  which  her  seamen  had  been  diligent  and  persistent ;  and 
for  military  transport  in  case  of  war.  It  is  not  easy  to  give  due  credit  for 
the  first  advocacy  of  a  Canadian  trans-continental  railway.  It  goes  quite  far 
back  in  Canadian  history.  It  was  discussed  by  Judge  Haliburton,  and  was  a 
dream  of  Hon.  Joseph  Howe.  We  find  a  route  well  defined  in  an  article 
that  was  contributed  by  an  ofiicer  of  the  "  Thames  City,"  which  brought 
out  a  detachment  of  the  Royal  Engineers  and  Sappers  &  Miners  in  1859, 
to  a  paper  published  on  board.  Curiously  enough,  the  route  then  indicated, 
was  the  one  that  was  subsequently  followed  in  actual  construction.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  project  at  various  times  was  widely  discussed.  Like  so 
many  other  great  enterprises  of  national  importance,  it  was  a  long  time  in 
the  public  mind  before  it  assumed  concrete   form.     In  British   Columbia, 


204  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Mr.  Alfred  Waddington  was  the  first  and  foremost  advocate.  He  was  an 
enthusiast  on  the  subject  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  energy  to  acquir- 
ing information  and  in  an  agitation  for  a  railway  via  Bute  Inlet.  Begg's 
history  of  British  Columbia  contains  the  following  reference  to  his  later 
efforts*:  "  Mr.  Waddington  proceeded  to  London,  and  petitioned  the  House 
of  Commons,  in  the  interests  of  British  Columbia.  His  first  petition  of  the 
29th  of  May,  1868,  was  signed  by  himself;  the  second  (3rd  July)  was  pre- 
sented by  Viscount  Milton.  It  was  largely  signed  by  parties  connected 
with  British  Columbia,  and  showed  that  that  Colony  was  '  for  all  practical 
purposes,  isolated  from  the  Mother  Country,  and  surrounded  by  a  foreign 
state,  and  great  national  difficulties  ' ;  that  it  was  '  entirely  indebted  to  the 
United  States  for  the  carriage  of  its  letters  and  emigrants,  and  almost  en- 
tirely for  the  carriage  of  goods  required  for  trade  and  domestic  purposes: 
that  a  graving  dock  was  required;  that  it  was  of  great  public  importance 
to  secure  the  advantages  of  an  overland  communication  through  British 
North  America,  which  would  be  the  shortest  and  best  route  to  China,  Japan 
and  the  East;  that  the  overland  communication  sought  for  would  perpetuate 
the  loyal  feelings  of  the  colony,  and  that  a  line  of  steam  communication  from 
Panama  to  Vancouver  Island  should  in  the  meantime  be  subsidized.'  Mr. 
Waddington  after  remaining  in  London  until  1869,  returned  to  Ottawa, 
and  continued  to  advocate  the  construction  of  a  trans-continental  railway, 
until  after  Confederation.  He  sold  the  plans  of  his  overland  route  through 
British  Columbia  to  the  Dominion  Government  in  August,  187 1.  He  died 
in  Ottawa  of  smallpox  in  February,  1872." 

As  Confederation  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and  was  being  successfully 
accomplished,  the  people  of  British  Columbia  were  not  slow  to  sec  that  in 
the  undertaking  of  such  an  enterprise  lay  their  hopes  for  the  future.  With 
a  railway  having  one  terminus  at  Halifax  and  the  other  on  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific,  they  recognized  the  importance  of  their  position  geographically 
and  commercially — a  position  which  in  annexation  would  only  and  always 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  205 

be  secondary  to  San  Francisco,  but  in  Confederation  second  to  none.  In 
all  the  political  habiliments,  paraphernalia  and  belonging's,  clothingf,  surround- 
ing, and  attaching  to  Confederation  the  one  main  object — ^the  essence  of  it 
all  was  a  railway — direct  communication  with  the  East.  As  Dr.  Helmcken 
might  have  expressed  it,  they  loved  not  Canada  for  what  she  was,  but  for 
what  she  would  do  for  them.  They  noted  the  terms  under  which  the  other 
provinces  had  entered  the  Federal  Union — debts  assumed,  allowances  made 
for  differences  of  degree  and  conditions,  annual  subsidies  in  lieu  of  existing 
revenues,  provincial  autonomy,  and  so  on.  They  knew  further  the  anxiety 
theie  was  to  extend  the  Dominion  of  Canada  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
To  be  relieved  of  debt,  to  throw  off  the  weight  of  an  overweighty  official- 
dom and  to  secure  a  railway  and  still  possess  the  sovereign  rights  of  self- 
government,  by  the  one  act  of  union,  was  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be 
wished.  The  people  of  British  Columbia  were  wise  in  their  day  and  gen- 
eration and  knew  or  thought  they  knew,  how  to  make  a  good  bargain,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  difference  of  opinion  that  exists  to-day  as  to  the  posi- 
tion of  this  province  in  the  Dominion,  they  flattered  themselves,  when  the 
news  came  from  Ottawa  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  negotiations  there,  that 
they  had  done  well.  And  who  will  say,  considering  the  circumstances  of  the 
province  at  that  time,  and  its  impotency  to  do  for  itself  what  the  Dominion 
Government  had  agreed  to  do  for  it,  that  the  issue  did  not  justify  some 
measure  of  self-satisfaction?  This  is  what  it  got:  A  railway  3,000  miles 
long  to  be  begun  within  two  years;  $100,000  a  year  in  lieu  of  lands  to  be 
given  for  railway  in  question;  80  cents  per  head  of  a  population  computed 
at  60,000;  deliverance  from  $1,500,000  of  debt;  $500,000  for  a  dry  dock 
at  Esquimau ;  superannuation  of  officials;  $35,000  a  year  in  support  of 
the  government;  five  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  difference  between  the  debt 
and  that  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  pro  rata  of  the  population; 
Indians  to  be  cared  for  by  the  Dominion  and  nine  representatives  at  Ottawa, 
three  senators  and  six  members  in  the  House  of  Commons.     In  lieu  of  this 


206  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  province  gave  the  land  included  in  the  railway  belt,  its  customs  and  excise 
revenues,  the  control  of  the  general  affairs  now  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Dominion  Government,  which  then  pertained  to  its  colonial  status.  These 
terms  were  subsequently  modified  to  some  extent,  favorably  to  the  province, 
but  not  in  any  essential  respect. 

Looking-  at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  to-day  it  would  be  a  difficult  task 
indeed,  and  perhaps  a  not  over-wise  one,  to  decide  as  to  which  of  the  two 
parties  to  the  negotiations  really  made  the  better  bargain.  Speculation  would 
not  be  quite  idle  as  to  what  this  province  would  be  standing  alone  as  a 
Crown  Colony;  but  we  cannot  come  to  a  definite  conclusion.  Great  life 
and  energy  have  been  imparted  to  the  people  and  great  development  has  re- 
sulted. The  foundation  has  been  laid  for  things  many  times  greater  in 
comparison,  the  magnitude  of  which  we  are  not  yet  in  a  position  to  realize. 
It  is  true  the  province  is  paying  a  too  substantial  dividend  to  the  Dominion 
for  the  latter's  investment,  and  is  under  no  financial  obligations  for  the 
advantages  it  has  derived.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Dominion,  in  order  to 
carry  out  the  terms  of  the  bargain  with  British  Columbia,  assumed  enormous 
obligations,  under  which  she  staggered  for  a  time,  but  Canada  to-day  with- 
out the  West  would  not  rank  higjher  in  the  category  of  countries  than  one 
of  the  States  of  the  American  Union.  With  the  prestige  which  a  trans- 
continental line  with  its  trans-Pacific  connections  has  given  her,  with  the 
markets  that  have  been  afforded  to  her  manufacturers  thereby,  and  the  wealth 
that  has  been  added  to  her  domain,  the  taking  of  British  Columbia  into  the 
family  compact  has  constituted  it  the  supreme  achievement  of  Confederation. 

The  Preliminary  Steps. 

To  come  back  to  the  starting  point  of  Confederation  in  British  Colum- 
bia; that  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  union  of  Vancouver  Island  with 
the  Mainland.  No  doubt  the  dissatisfaction  in  the  Westminster  district  over 
the  removal  of  the  capital  had  much  to  do  in  stimulating  the  movement,  and 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  207 

its  foremost  advocates  belong  to  the  Mainland.  It  is  true  that  the  Hon. 
Amor  de  Cosmos,  in  Victoria,  had  been  among  the  first — if  he  was  not 
indeed  the  first — to  publicly  advocate  it  in  his  paper,  the  "  Standard." 

However,  it  first  came  prominently  to  the  front  during  the  session  of 
1867,  when  a  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  in  its  favor,  requesting 
Gov.  Seymour  "  to  take  measures  without  delay  to  secure  the  admission  of 
British  Columbia  into  the  Confederation  on  fair  and  equitable  terms."  Gov. 
Seymour,  it  may  be  remarked,  was  at  first  not  favorably  disposed  to  a  union 
with  Canada,  and  whatever  his  influence  with  the  executive  may  have  been 
in  this  regard  is  not  known ;  but  at  all  events,  when  the  session  of  the 
following  year  was  held,  little  or  no  progress  had  been  made  in  the  direction 
indicated  by  the  resolution  in  question,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  seemed  to  have  changed  their  attitude  in  regard  to 
it,  and  when  the  subject  was  again  introduced  it  met  with  overwhelming 
opposition.  As  a  result  of  the  action  taken,  or  rather,  not  taken,  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council,  an  agitation  was  started  throughout  the  country  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  it  to  an  issue. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Victoria  on  January  29,  1868,  a  committee  was 
appointed,  consisting  of  Messrs.  James  Trimble,  Amor  de  Cosmos,  I.  W. 
Powell,  J.  R.  Findlay,  R.  Wallace  and  H.  E.  Seeley,  who  drew  up  and  signed 
a  memorial,  which  set  forth,  among  other  things,  the  resolution  unanimously 
passed  by  the  Legislative  Council,  already  referred  to;  that  a  public  meeting 
had  been  held  at  the  same  time  expressing  concurrent  views  with  the  Legis- 
lative Council;  that  the  people  of  Cariboo  had  held  in  the  previous  Decem- 
ber a  highly  enthusiastic  meeting,  and  unanimously  passed  a  resolution  in 
favor  of  immediately  joining  the  Dominion;  that  public  opinion  was  over- 
whelmingly in  favor  of  Confederation;  that  there  was  only  a  small  party 
other  than  Annexationists  who  were  opposed;  that  nearly  all  the  offices 
belonged  to  the  latter  party;  that  there  was  only  a  small  party  in  favor  of 
annexation  to  the  L^nited  States;    that  Governor  Seymour  had  not  made 


208  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

any  representations  to  the  Dominion  Government  asking  for  admission,  as 
requested;  that  the  Legislative  Council,  composed  as  it  was  of  officials  and 
others  subject  to  the  will  of  the  Government,  could  not  be  depended  upon 
to  express  the  will  of  the  people,  and  so  on..  These  and  other  representations 
were  contained  in  the  memorial  which  was  addressed  to  the  Dominion 
Government. 

Hon.  S.  L.  Tilley,  the  Minister  of  Customs,  sent  the  following  reply, 
dated  Ottawa,  March  25,  1868 :  "  The  Canadian  Government  desires  union 
with  British  Columbia,  and  has  opened  communications,  and  suggests  imme- 
diate action  by  your  legislators  and  a  passage  of  an  address  to  Her  Majesty 
requesting  union  with  Canada.     Keep  us  informed  of  progress." 

On  the  2 1  St  of  May  of  the  same  year  a  Confederation  Leagtie  was  formed 
in  the  city  of  Victoria,  of  which  the  following  gentlemen  formed  the  Execu- 
tive Committee:  James  Trimble  (Mayor),  Captain  Stamp,  Dr.  Powell,  J.  F. 
(now  Hon.  Justice)  McCreight,  Robert  Beaven,  J.  D.  Norris,  George 
Pearkes,  R.  Wallace,  C.  Gowen,  M.  W.  Gibbs,  Amor  de  Cosmos  and  George 
Fox.  The  League  began  with  a  membership  of  one  hundred  in  Victoria, 
and  branches  were  formed  in  several  places  on  the  Island  and  the  Mainland. 

On  July  the  ist  of  the  same  year,  what  was  described  as  "  a  largely 
attended  and  spirited  open-air  meeting  "  was  held  at  Barkerville,  Cariboo,  at 
which  strong  resolutions  were  passed  unanimously  condemning  the  Govern- 
ment for  opposing  Confederation  and  favoring  "  some  organized  and  sys- 
tematic mode  of  obtaining  admission  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada."  At 
this  meeting  Mr.  J.  S.  Thompson,  afterwards  a  member  of  Parliament,  made 
an  effective  and  eloquent  speech  in  moving  a  resolution,  which,  by  the  way, 
was  seconded  by  Mr.  Cornelius  Booth,  late  Supervisor  of  the  Rolls  for  the 
Province.  Before  the  meeting  adjourned  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed 
to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  meeting  in  furthering  what  had  been  advocated. 

The  next  most  important  step  in  the  agitation  was  the  holding  on  Sep- 
tember 14  the  somewhat  celebrated  convention  at  Yale,  at  which  most  of  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  209 

•  leading-  men  of  the  province  were  present.  A  committee  was  then  appointed, 
composed  of  Hon.  Amor  de  Cosmos,  Messrs.  Macmillan,  Wallace  and  Norris, 
of  Victoria;  Hon.  John  Robson,  New  Westminster;  and  Hon.  Hugh  Nelson. 
of  Burrard  Inlet,  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  the  Convention.  The  proceed- 
ings of  this  Convention  were  very  much  criticised  at  the  time,  and  were  the 
subject  of  not  a  little  ridicule  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  the 
movement. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  in  1869,  the  question  was  again 
brought  up,  with  the  result  that  the  Government  carried  an  adverse  resolution 
as  follows :  "  That  this  Council,  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  under 
existing  circumstances  the  Confederation  of  this  colony  with  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  would  be  undesirable,  even  if  practicable,  would  urge  upon  Her 
Majesty's  Government  not  to  take  any  steps  toward  the  present  consumma- 
tion of  such  union."  Messrs.  Carrall,  Robson.  Havelock,  Walkem  and 
Humphreys,  who  stated  that  they  had  been  returned  as  Confederationists^ 
entered  a  protest  against  the  passage  of  the  resolution,  and  placed  on  record 
their  disapproval  of  the  action  of  the  Government. 

Despite  the  attitude  taken  by  the  Government,  events  about  this  time 
began  to  hasten  that  which  facilitated  in  rather  an  unexpected  way  the  bring- 
ing about  of  Confederation.  There  was  considerable  talk  of  annexation  on 
the  part  of,  it  is  true,  an  inconsiderable  minority  of  American  citizens,  and  a 
petition  which  was  circulated  and  signed  principally  by  the  latter,  was  sent 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  praying  for  admission  into  the  Union. 
In  June  of  that  year  Governor  Seymour,  whose  sympathies  and  influences 
during  the  preliminary  portion  of  the  agitation  for  Confederation  had  been 
on  the  side  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  it,  but  whose  opposition,  we  are 
led  to  understand,  was  subsequently  withdrawn — the  result  of  his  visit  to 
England — died.  Anthony  Musgrave,  whose  instructions  were  to  bring  about 
Confederation  as  speedily  as  possible,  in  conformity  with  the  Imperial  policy, 
succeeded  him.     Governor  Musgrave,  we  are  told.  "  was  admirably  fitted  for 


210  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  work  of  reconciling  the  opposing  elements,  and  his  eflforts  were  easily 
successful."  Since  the  time  that  the  first  resolution  had  passed  the  House, 
when  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to,  the  events  in  Canada  had  led  to  a  tem- 
porary damper  in  the  enthusiasm  at  first  displayed  over  Confederation.  There 
was  the  dissatisfaction  existing  in  Nova  Scotia,  which  did  not  augur  well 
for  the  success  of  the  Union,  and  the  trouble  in  Manitoba,  which  at  the  time 
the  Legislative  Council  sat,  in  1870,  had  not  yet  l)een  settled  satisfactorily. 
These  no  doubt  created  unrest  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  leading  men  in 
the  colony,  especially  in  Victoria,  as  to  the  wisdom  of  joining  hands  with  the 
Dominion  while  as  yet  Confederation  was,  so  to  speak,  only  in  the  experi- 
mental stage.  There  were  in  British  Columbia  indications  of  improvement 
of  the  situation,  owing  to  mining  excitement,  the  result  of  new  discoveries, 
and  it  was  thought  by  some,  notably  Dr.  Helmcken,  that  it  would  be  better 
to  wait  a  little  longer  in  order  to  judge  more  accurately  of  the  results  of 
Confederation  in  the  other  provinces,  and  in  case  of  times  improving,  as 
seemed  probable,  British  Columbia  would  be  in  a  better  position  to  demand 
her  own  terms  than  if  she  went  into  the  Union  on  the  first  invitation. 

However,  Governor  Musgrave  was  anxious  to  carry  out  his  instructions, 
and  no  doubt  wished  to  have  the  honor  of  bringing  the  matter  to  a  successful 
issue  during  his  term  of  office,  and  he  succeeded,  as  we  shall  see,  in  bringing 
the  Executive  to  his  way  of  thinking.  Prior  to  the  session  of  1870  he  had, 
with  his  Council,  framed  resolutions  to  lay  before  them  so  as  to  enable  him 
to  deal  with  the  Government  of  Canada.  It  was  agreed  that  the  terms  of 
Union  should  not  be  finally  accepted  until  ratified  by  the  people,  and  authority 
was  to  be  asked  to  reconstitute  the  Legislative  Council,  so  as  to  allow  the 
majority  of  its  members  to  be  formally  returned  for  electoral  districts,  and 
thus  obtain  expression  of  opinion  of  the  people  of  the  colony. 

The  terms  of  Union  proposed  by  the  Governor  were,  briefly :  Canada 
to  assume  the  debt  of  British  Columbia;  to  pay  $35,000  yearly  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  local  Government,  and  80  cents  per  head  of  the  population,  to 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  211 

be  rated  at  120,000,  the  rate  of  80  cents  to  be  continued  until  the  population 
reached  400,000,  the  subsidy  thereafter  to  remain  fixed;  to  commence  at 
once  the  survey  for  a  line  of  railway;  to  complete  a  wagon  road  to  Lake 
Superior  within  three  years  after  Confederation,  and  not  less  than  $1,000,000 
to  be  spent  in  any  one  year  in  its  construction;  to  guarantee  5  per  cent  in- 
terest on  a  loan  of  $500,000  for  the  construction  of  a  graving  dock  at  Esqui- 
malt:  to  provide  fortnightly  steam  communication  with  San  Francisco;  to 
give  regular  communication  with  Nanaimo  and  the  interior;  to  build  and 
maintain  a  Marine  Hospital,  a  Lunatic  Asylum  and  a  Penitentiary;  to  main- 
tain the  Judiciary  and  the  Postoffice  and  Customs  services;  to  use  its  influ- 
ence to  retain  E^uimalt  as  a  station  for  Her  Majesty's  ships  and  to  establish 
a  volunteer  force;  to  provide  a  pension  for  the  present  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment ;  and  to  allow  interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  differ- 
ence between  the  actual  amount  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  colony,  per  head 
of  the  population,  rated  at   120,000,  and  the  indebtedness  per  head  of  the 

other  provinces. 

The  Debate  on  Confederation. 

On  Wednesday.  March  9,  1870,  began  the  memorable  debate  on  the 
subject  of  Confederation  with  Canada,  when  the  then  Attorney-General, 
Hon.  (late  Sir  Henry  P.  P.)  Crease,  rose  to  move:  "That  this  Council  do 
now  resolve  itself  into  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  consideration 
the  terms  proposed  for  the  Confederation  of  the  Colony  of  British  Columbia 
with  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  in  his  excellency's  message  to  this  Council." 
"  In  doing  so,"  he  said,  "  I  am  deeply  impressed  with  the  momentous  char- 
acter of  the  discussion  into  which  we  are  about  to  enter,  the  grave  impor- 
tance of  a  decision  by  which  the  fate  of  this,  our  adopted  country'  of  British 
Columbia,  must  be  influenced  for  better  or  for  worse,  for  all  time  to  come. 
And  I  earnestly  hope  that  bur  minds  and  best  energies  may  be  bent  to  a 
task  which  w-ill  tax  all  our  patriotism,  all  our  forbearance,  all  our  abnegation 
of  self  and  selfish  aims;  to  combine  all  our  individual  powers  into  one  great 


212  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

united  effort  for  the  common  good."  He  then  invoked  the  Divine  blessing 
in  the  follov^^ing-  words :  "  May  He  who  holds  the  fate  of  nations  in  the 
hollow  of  His  hand,  and  crowns  with  success,  or  brings  to  naught  the  coun- 
cils of  men,  guide  all  our  deliberations  to  such  an  issue  as  shall  promote  the 
peace,  honor  and  welfare  of  our  most  Gracious  Sovereign,  and  of  this  and 
all  other  portions  of  her  extended  realms."  His  speech  in  introducing  the 
resolution  above  was  brief,  but  lucid  and  eloquent.  "  This  issue  is,"  he  re- 
marked, "  Confederation  or  no  Confederation,"  and  pungently  added,  "  Your 
question,  Mr.  President,  that  I  do  now  leave  the  chair,  means:  That  is  the 
issue  before  us  now."  Thus  was  launched  a  discussion  which,  vigorously 
conducted  for  a  number  of  days,  landed  the  Province  of  British  Columbia 
in  the  arms  of  the  Dominion. 

The  debate  to  go  into  Committee  of  the  Whole  lasted  three  days,  and 
nine  days  were  occupied  in  discussing  the  details  in  committee.  Some  nota- 
ble speeches  were  made,  and  probably  no  debate  since  that  time  brought  into 
requisition  greater  talent,  or  better  sustained  and  more  dignified  oratory  in 
the  Legislative  Assembly.  They  were  able  men,  some  of  them,  who  took 
part,  and  all  the  speakers  were  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  country. 
Among  them  were  Attorney-General  Crease,  Dr.  Helmcken,  Amor  de  Cos- 
mos, Thomas  Humphreys,  M.  W.  T.  Drake,  John  Robson,  Joseph  Trutch, 
Hy  Holbrook,  T.  L.  Wood,  F.  J.  Barnard,  R.  W.  W.  Carrall,  E.  Dewdney, 
G.  A.  Walkem — nearly  all  of  whom  are  familiar  to  the  newest  comers  as 
men  having  a  high  place  in  the  affairs  of  the  province.  It  would  be  impos- 
sible in  a  limited  space  to  give  even  in  outline  the  salient  points  in  the  debate. 

Following  the  Honorable  the  Attorney-General  came  Dr.  Helmcken, 
from  whom  the  principal  opposition  arose.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he 
said :  "  The  honorable  gentleman  laid  great  stress  upon  the  consolidation 
of  British  interests  on  this  coast;  but  I  say,  sir,  that  however  much  we  are 
in  favor  of  consolidating  British  interests,  our  own  must  come  first.  Im- 
perial interests  can  well  afford  to  wait.     We  are  invited  to  settle  this  ques- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  213 

tion  now  and  forever;  but  I  say  that  we  are  not  called  upon  to  do  so.  The 
matter  will  come  before  the  people  after  the  proposed  terms  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  Dominion  Government;  and  it  will  very  likely  happen  that  if 
these  terms  were  rejected  and  others  of  a  mean  nature  substituted  by  the 
Government  of  Canada  for  the  consideration  of  the  people  of  this  colony, 
other  issues  may  come  up  at  the  polls,  and  amongst  them  the  question  whether 
there  is  no  other  place  to  which  this  colony  can  go  but  Canada.  Whatever 
may  be  the  result  of  the  present  vote,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  the  probability 
of  the  lesser  being  absorbed  by  the  greater,  and  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  im- 
probable that  ultimately  not  only  this  colony  but  the  whole  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  will  be  absorbed  by  the  United  States."  As  has  already  been 
stated.  Dr.  Helmcken  dwelt  largely  on  the  fact  that  the  time  was  inopportune 
to  open  the  question,  because  he  indicated  that  the  new  gold  discoveries 
would  bring  a  large  population  to  the  province,  and  that  the  present  depres- 
sion would  be  swept  away,  and  that  in  that  event  the  province  would  be  in  a 
better  position  to  go  to  the  Dominion  and  negotiate  for  terms. 

In  noticing  the  drawbacks  of  the  colony  he  said :  "  The  United  States 
hem  us  in  on  every  side.  It  is  the  nation  by  which  we  exist.  It  is  a  nation 
which  has  made  this  colony  what  it  is;  but,  nevertheless,  it  is  one  of  our 
greatest  drawbacks.  We  do  not  enjoy  her  advantages,  nor  do  we  profit 
much  by  them.  We  do  not  share  her  prosperity,  and  we  are  far  too  small 
to  be  rivals.  The  effect  of  a  large  body  and  a  small  body  brought  into  con- 
tact is  that  the  larger  will  adopt  the  smaller  and  ultimately  absorb  it.  And 
again,  I  say  so,  sir;  I  say  that  the  United  States  will  probably  ultimately 
absorb  both  this  colony  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Canada  will,  in  all 
probability,  desire  quite  as  much  to  join  her  ultimately  as  we  do  now  to  join 
the  Dominion."  Dr.  Helmcken  also  objected  to  the  Canadian  tariff,  which 
was  lower  than  that  of  British  Columbia  at  the  time,  and  consequently  un- 
favorable to  the  development  of  the  agricultural  industry.  This  was  a  mat- 
ter that  was  very  strongly  dwelt  upon  by  nearly  all  the  members,  and  it  was 


214  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

held  that  in  arranging  the  terms  the  Dominion  Government  would  be  specially 
induced  to  look  after  the  interests  of  this  province  and  see  that  the  farmers 
were  protected  from  competition  from  the  neighboring  territory  of  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon.  The  doctor  held  that  Confederation  would  be  inimical 
to  nearly  every  interest  of  the  province,  and  particularly  to  the  farmers.  He 
said  it  would  be  inimical  to  brewers,  to  the  spar  trade,  to  the  fisheries,  whaling 
pursuits  and  the  lumber  business.  Of  all  the  speeches  delivered,  his  may  be 
said  to  have  been  the  most  original. 

Hon.  Mr.  Drake,  member  for  Victoria  City,  moved  the  six  months' 
hoist,  saying :  "  I  need  not  state,  sir,  that  I  have  always  been  opposed  to 
Confederation.  I  have  consistently  opposed  Federation  on  any  terms  up  to 
the  present  time,  and  I  do  not  see  any  reason  now  to  change  my  opinion." 
Mr.  Drake  took  very  much  the  same  line  of  objection  as  Dr.  Helmcken.  He 
spoke  particularly  in  regard  to  the  Canadian  tariff,  which  he  said  would  place 
the  farmers  of  British  Columbia  at  a  very  great  disadvantage  compared  with 
those  of  the  United  States.  He  claimed  that  distance  from  Canada,  small- 
ness  of  population,  giving  an  insignificant  representation  in  the  Dominion 
Parliament,  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  intervening  territory,  would  be  in- 
superable barriers  to  the  success  of  the  scheme.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Ring,  mem- 
ber for  Nanaimo,  seconded  Mr.  Drake's  amendment,  and  spoke  briefly.  Hon. 
Mr.  Robson,  it  is  needless  to  say,  though  opposed  to  the  Government,  took 
a  strong  and  patriotic  position  in  favor  of  the  original  resolution.  He  al- 
ways favored  Confederation. 

Perhaps  the  strongest  speech  was  made  by  Hon.  J.  W.  Trutch,  Chief 
Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works.  His  arguments  were  well  presented, 
and  his  advocacy  of  Confederation  moderate  but  firm.  Regarding  Canada, 
he  said :  '*  I  believe,  sir,  that  many  of  the  objections  which  have  been  raised 
to  Confederation  have  arisen  from  prejudiced  feelings.  I  have  no  reason  to 
be  prejudiced  against  or  partial  to  Canada.  I  believe  the  Canadians  as  a 
people  are  no  better  than  others,  and  no  worse.     I  have  no  ties  in  Canada. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  215 

nor  particular  reason  for  entertaining  any  feeling  of  affection  for  Canada." 
He  repudiated  some  suggestions  of  Hon.  Mr.  Drake  as  follows :  "  The 
honorable  junior  member  for  Victoria  asks  what  guarantee  have  we  that  the 
terms  will  be  carried  out.  I  say  at  once,  sir,  if  the  terms  are  not  carried  out, 
if  the  Canadian  Government  repudiate  their  part  of  the  agreement,  we  shall 
be  equally  at  liberty  to  repudiate  ours.  We  should,  I  maintain,  be  at  liberty 
to  repudiate  Confederation."  He  considered  the  time  was  most  opportune. 
He  was  in  favor  of  the  province  having  the  right  to  make  its  own  tariff,  so 
as  to  protect  its  farming  interests,  and  hailed  with  pleasure  the  salmon  laws 
of  Canada  and  advocated  the  rights  of  the  Indians.  Concluding,  he  said : 
"  As  we  shall,  from  our  position  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  be  the  keystone  of 
Confederation,  I  hope  we  may  become  the  most  glorious  in  the  whole  struct- 
ure, and  tend  to  our  own  and  England's  future  greatness." 

Hon.  Mr.  Wood  was  the  next  speaker.  He  supported  in  an  able  and 
argumentative  speech  the  amendment  for  the  six  months'  hoist.  His  objec- 
tions were,  first,  to  the  principles  of  the  Organic  Act  of  1867,  as  applied  to 
the  British  North  American  Provinces;  second,  to  the  special  application  of 
the  principle  to  this  province;  third,  to  the  mode  in  which  the  consent  of  its 
adoption  was  attempted  to  be  obtained.  Mr.  Wood  thought  the  principle 
of  Confederation  was  bad  in  itself  and  would  not  work  out  successfully.  He 
thought  that  Great  Britain  favored  it  from  a  selfish  point  of  view,  and  not 
from  considerations  of  broad  statesmanship.  With  respect  to  British  Co- 
lumbia his  objections  were:  Remoteness,  comparative  insignificance,  and 
diversity  of  interests.  As  to  the  third  objection,  the  mode  of  bringing  about 
Confederation,  he  objected  to  it  as  not  appealing  to  moral  or  political  con- 
siderations, but  to  pecuniary  motives.  In  other  words,  the  people  were 
being  bribed  by  promises  of  a  railway  and  a  dry  dock  rather  than  being  con- 
vinced by  political  advantages. 

Hon.  Amor  de  Cosmos  made  a  long  and  vigorous  though  somewhat 
discursive  speech.     He  claimed  to  be  the  first   to   advocate   Confederation. 


216  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

and  as  such  condemned  the  Government  for  delaying  so  long.  He  remarked 
at  the  opening :  "  For  many  years  I  have  regarded  the  union  of  the  British 
Pacific  territories,  and  of  their  consoHdation  under  one  Government,  as  one 
of  the  steps  preHminary  to  the  grand  consoHdation  of  the  British  Empire  in 
North  America.  I  still  look  upon  it  in  this  light  with  the  pride  and  feeling 
of  a  native-born  British  American.  From  the  time  when  I  first  mastered 
the  institutes  of  physical  and  political  geography  I  could  see  Vancouver 
Island  on  the  Pacific  from  my  home  on  the  Atlantic;  and  I  could  see  a  time 
when  the  British  possessions,  from  the  United  States  boundary  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  and  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  would  be  consolidated 
into  one  great  nation."  Mr.  De  Cosmos  incidentally  remarked :  "  If  I  had 
my  way,  instead  of  the  United  States  owning  Alaska,  it  would  have  been 
British  to-day."  He  laid  great  stress  on  the  terms  of  Confederation  and 
was  anxious  to  make  as  good  a  money  bargain  as  possible.  On  that  ground 
he  objected  to  the  financial  arrangements  as  submitted  by  the  Government  as 
not  creating  sufficient  surplus  of  revenue,  and  also  to  the  fiction,  as  he  termed 
it.  of  assuming  the  population  to  be  120,000  instead  of  40,000.  It  may  be 
remarked  here,  incidentally,  that  the  assumption  of  120,000  as  the  popula- 
tion of  British  Columbia  was  based  not  on  an  estimate  of  the  actual  number 
of  people,  including  Indians,  in  the  province,  but  on  the  relative  tariff  reve- 
nue as  compared  with  that  of  Canada,  which  was  as  three  to  one.  In  other 
words,  it  was  estimated  that  as  every  individual  paid  three  times  in  tariff 
imposts  what  was  paid  in  Canada,  the  population  should  be  figured  as  120,000 
instead  of  40,000.  It  is  curious  that  the  rate  of  revenue  still  maintains  the 
same  ratio.  Our  population  is  now  200,000.  According  to  that  method  of 
figuring  it  should  be  600,000  for  the  purpose  of  a  subsidy. 

Hon.  Mr.  Ring  again  spoke,  advocating  that  the  people  should  have  an 
opportunity  of  deciding  upon  the  terms  before  it  was  discussed  by  the  House. 

Mr.  Barnard  was  the  most  enthusiastic  supporter  of  Confederation,  and 
he  took  up  the  subject,  as  he  did  anything  in  which  he  became  interested, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  217 

with  peculiar  energy.  Speaking-  as  a  Canadian  bom,  he  said :  "  I  desire, 
before  going-  further,  to  allude  to  a  charge  commonly  laid  against  my  coun- 
tryrren — often  offensively  put,  but  yesterday  put  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  "Wood  in 
his  usually  gentlemanly  way.  It  is  that  of  Canadian  '  proclivity.'  As  a 
native-born  Canadian,  in  common  with  others,  T  love  the  land  of  my  birth. 
We  adm.ire  her  institutions  and  revere  her  laws;  but  we  never  forget  the 
land  of  our  adoption,  and  we  should  no  more  consent  to  see  her  wronged  by 
Canada  than  would  the  tens  of  thousands  of  Englishmen  who  have  made 
Canada  their  home  permit  a  wrong  to  be  done  her  by  England.  *  *  * 
As  to  that  '  other  issue '  (meaning  annexation),  I  have  no  fears  for  Canada, 
or  this  colony  either.  It  used  to  be  fashionable  here  in  early  days  to  asso- 
ciate the  name  of  Canada  with  rebellion.  It  was  the  result  of  prejudice  and 
ignorance  and  was  a  great  mistake.  *  *  *  ^o  sum  up,  sir,  I  say  that 
amongst  the  statesmen  of  Canada  we  may  safely  look  for  men  fully  compe- 
tent to  control  the  affairs  of  a  young  nation.  They  are  men  of  as  much  am- 
bition and  grasp  of  thought  as  are  the  rulers  in  the  adjoining  states;  and 
depend  upon  it,  nothing  will  be  left  undone  to  advance  the  prosperity  and 
well-being  of  every  portion  of  their  vast  Dominion.  We  may  safely  repose 
full  confidence  in  them," 

Hon.  Mr.  Humphreys,  for  Lillooet,  was  somewhat  fiery  in  his  remarks, 
and  thcugh  in  favor  of  Confederation  was  much  "  agin  "  the  Government. 
He  wanted  to  see  responsible  government  made  a  sine  qua  non  of  Union. 

Hon,  Mr,  Carrall,  another  enthusiastic  Confederationist,  followed  in  a 
well-balanced  speech,  and  coming  from  Cariboo,  he  had  strong  support  in 
his  constituents.  Speaking  of  Canada,  he  said :  "  After  she  was  prevented 
from  going  to  the  United  States  by  that  abrogation  of  the  Reciprocity  Treaty, 
she  tun;ed  her  attention  to  her  own  resources,  and  I  believe  she  is  now  going 
to  be  one  of  the  most  progressive  nations  upon  the  earth.  Undoubtedly  she 
is  determined  to  progress  westward  until  she  reaches  British  Columbia  and 


218  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  Pacific,  and  with  all  her  progressive  tendencies  she  will  not  abate  one  jot 
of  her  loyalty  for  which  now.  as  ever,  she  is  distinguished." 

Hon.  Mr.  Alston,  Registrar-General,  a  representative  of  the  official  ele- 
ment in  the  House,  supported  the  Government's  resolution.  Mr.  Dewdney, 
the  present  Lieutenant-Governor,  member  for  Kootenay,  was  in  rather  gn 
awkward  position,  for,  as  far  as  he  could  ascertain,  his  constituents  were 
opposed  to  Confederation,  but,  as  he  was  unable  to  consult  with  them  upon 
the  terms  submitted,  he  took  the  responsibility  of  supporting  the  resolution 
for  Confederation.  He  said  that  "  in  the  light  that  it  now  bears,  that  I  do 
believe  that  their  opinions  would  be  in  unison  with  that  of  the  country  gen- 
erally— in  favor  of  Confederation  in  terms  now  proposed."  The  debate  was 
closed  by  brief  remarks  from  Dr.  Helrricken,  defining  his  position,  and  the 
Honorable  Attorney-General,  Hon.  Mr.  Drake,  member  for  Victoria  City, 
withdrew  his  amendment,  and  the  resolution  was  carried  unanimously  and 
the  House  went  into  committee  of  the  whole. 

The  discussion  for  the  next  ten  days  was  on  matters  of  detail  and  was 
quite  too  long  and  irregular  to  endeavor  to  present  in  any  concise  form. 
The  terms  as  submitted  by  Governor  Musgrave  were  agreed  to,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  the  principal  of  which  were  that  the  annual  grant  of  $35,000  to 
be  paid  by  the  Dominion  for  the  support  of  the  local  Government  was  raised 
to  $75,000,  and  the  limit  of  population  at  which  the  amount  of  subsidy  be- 
came fixed  was  changed  from  400,000  to  1,000,000,  and  a  series  of  supple- 
mentary resolutions  added.  Messrs.  Helmcken,  Trutch  and  Carrall  were 
chosen  by  the  Executive  to  go  to  Ottawa  to  arrange  the  terms  with  the  Do- 
minion Government.  The  sum  of  $3,000  was  voted  to  defray  their  ex- 
penses, and  they  left  on  May  10,  1870,  by  way  of  San  Francisco.  On  the 
7th  of  July  the  special  correspondent  of  the  "  Colonist  "  telegraphed  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Terms  agreed  upon.  The  delegates  are  satisfied.  Canada  to  Eng- 
land. Carrall  remains  one  month.  Helmcken  and  your  correspondent  are 
on  their  way  home." 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  219 

The  terms  agreed  upon  have  already  been  given  in  substance,  and  were 
confirmed  by  the  Legislature  upon  its  first  meeting  thereafter. 

The  Terms  of  Union. 

In  connection  with  the  terms  of  Confederation  submitted  by  Governor 
Musgrave  and  adopted  in  substance  by  the  Legislative  Council,  supplementary 
resolutions,  as  has  already  been  stated,  were  passed,  stating:  i.  That 
duties  levied  upon  maltsters  and  brewers,  under  the  Excise  Law  of  Canada, 
would  be  detrimental  to  British  Columbia,  and  requesting  that  no  export 
duty  should  be  charged  on  spars  exported  from  British  Columbia.  2.  That 
the  application  of  the  Canadian  tariff,  while  reducing  the  aggregate  burden 
of  taxation,  would  injuriously  afifect  the  agricultural  and  commercial  interests 
of  the  community,  and  requesting  that  special  rates  of  customs  duties  and 
regulations  should  be  arranged  for  the  colony.  3.  That  a  geographical 
survey  of  British  Columbia  be  made,  such  survey  to  be  commenced  one  year 
after  Confederation.  4.  And  that  all  public  works  and  property  as  properly 
belonged  to  the  Dominion  under  the  British  North  America  Act,  should  belong 
to  British  Columbia,  and  all  roads  to  be  free  of  toll  of  every  kind  whatsoever. 

The  terms  of  union  agreed  upon  between  the  delegates  from  British 
Columbia  and  the  Government  of  Canada  differed  from  those  adopted  by 
the  Legislative  Council  in  the  following  respects :  That  the  population 
should  be  estimated  at  60,000  instead  of  120,000;  that  British  Columbia  should 
be  entitled  to  six  members  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  three  in  the  Senate, 
instead  of  eight  members  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  four  in  the  Senate. 

The  proposition  for  the  construction  of  a  wagon  road  from  the  main 
trunk  road  of  British  Columbia  to  Fort  Garry  was  dropped,  and  the  Do- 
minion undertook  to  secure  the  commencement  simultaneously,  within  two 
years  of  the  date  of  the  union,  of  the  construction  of  a  railway  from  the 
Pacific  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  a  selected  place  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  to  connect  the  seaboard  of  British  Columbia  with 


220  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  railway  system  of  Canada  and  to  secure  the  completion  of  the  railway 
within  ten  years  from  the  date  of  union.  For  the  construction  of  such  rail- 
way the  Government  of  British  Columbia  agreed  to  convey  to  the  Dominion 
Government  a  land  grant  similar  in  extent  through  the  entire  length  of 
British  Columbia,  not  to  exceed  twenty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  line,  to  that 
appropriated  for  the  same  purpose  by  the  Dominion  Government  from  lands 
in  the  Northwest  Territory  and  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  with  this  provision, 
however,  that  the  land  held  under  a  pre-emption  right  or  Crown  grant  within 
the  forty-mile  belt  should  be  made  good  to  the  Dominion  from  contiguous 
public  lands.  In  consideration  of  the  lands  to  be  thus  conveyed  to  the  rail- 
way to  the  Dominion  Government  agreed  to  pay  to  British  Columbia  from 
the  date  of  union  the  sum  of  $100,000  per  annum  in  half-yearly  payments  in 
advance.  The  charge  of  the  Indians  and  the  trusteeship  and  management 
of  lands  reserved  for  their  use  and  benefit,  were  assumed  by  the  Dominion 
Government.  The  constitution  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  Legislature 
of  British  Columbia  was  to  continue  as  existing  at  the  time  of  union  until 
altered  under  authority  of  the  British  North  America  Act,  but  it  was  under- 
stood that  the  Dominion  Government  would  readily  consent  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  responsible  government  when  desired  by  British  Columbia,  and  it 
was  agreed  by  the  Government  of  British  Columbia  tO'  amend  the  constitu- 
tion so  as  to  provide  that  the  majority  of  the  Legislative  Council  should  be 
elective. 

An  election  was  held  in  November  of  1870,  in  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  state  that  the  terms  of  Confederation  were  the  main  issue.  The  new 
Council  met  January  5,  1871.  Dr.  Helmcken  was  nominated  as  Speaker,  but 
declined.  The  terms  of  Confederation,  as  agreed  upon,  were  passed  unani- 
mously, and  an  address  was  presented  to  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  pray- 
ing that  Her  Majesty  would  be  graciously  pleased  to  admit  British  Columbia, 
under  the  provision  of  the  British  North  America  Act,  into  the  Dominion 
of  Canada. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  221 

Responsible  government,  for  which  the  colony  was  fully  prepared,  was 
a  natural  consequence  of  Confederation,  and  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
Council  on  the  31st  of  January,  1871,  to  give  power  to  alter  the  constitution 
of  British  Columbia.  The  bill  was  considered  in  committee  of  the  whole 
and  reported  complete,  and  was  formally  adopted  on  February  6.  The  first 
election  under  the  new  constitution  took  place  in  October,  1871.  Hon. 
Joseph  Trutch,  conspicuous  in  bringing  about  Confederation,  had  been  ap- 
pointed Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  new  province.  Hon.  J.  F.  (Justice) 
McCreight  was  called  upon  to  form  the  first  administration.  There  were 
twenty-five  men  elected  to  the  first  Legislature,  as  follows:  George  A. 
Walkem,  Joseph  Hunter,  Cornelius  Booth,  John  Ash,  M.  D.,  William  Smithe, 
John  P.  Booth,  A.  Rocke  Robertson,  Henry  Cogan,  John  A.  Mara,  Charles 
Todd,  A.  T.  Jamieson,  T.  Humphreys,  John  Robson,  Henry  Holbrook,  J.  C. 
Hughes,  W.  J.  Armstrong,  J.  F.  McCreight,  Simeon  Duck,  Robert  Beaven, 
James  Trimble,  M.  D.,  A.  de  Cosmos,  A.  Bunster,  Robert  Smith,  James  Rob- 
inson, Charles  A.  Semlin.  Of  that  number  of  well  known  British  Colum- 
bians, many  of  whom  were  or  afterwards  became  prominent  in  public  affairs, 
the  following  are  still  living:  George  A.  Walkem,  recently  retired  from  the 
Supreme  Court  bench;  Joseph  Hunter,  for  many  years  Superintendent  of 
the  E.  &  N.  Railway;  John  A.  Mara,  ex-Speaker,  and  ex-member  of  the 
Dominion  House  of  Commons;  W.  J.  Armstrong,  ex-sheriff  of  New  West- 
minster; J.  F.  McCreight,  retired  from  the  Supreme  Court  bench;  Robert 
Beaven,  who  for  many  years  occupied  a  seat  in  the  House,  was  Premier  and 
several  times  Mayor  of  Victoria;  W.  F.  Tolmie;  and  Charles  A.  Semlin,  of 
Cache  Creek,  who  was  Premier  succeeding  Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  and  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  Seven  of  the  number  became  Premiers 
of  the  province. 

it  was  not  long  before  the  question  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
began  to  give  cause  for  trouble,  which  existed  in  a  more  or  less  aggravated 
form  for  seven  or  eight  years.     Few  people,  even  in  British  Columbia,  imag- 


222  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

ined  that  the  terms  of  union,  so  far  as  the  railway  was  concerned,  would  be 
strictly  adhered  to,  but  of  course  they  expected  a  bona  fide  attempt  to  com- 
mence and  complete  it  within  the  time  specified.  Few  people,  either,  prob- 
ably had  considered  fully  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise  and  the  difficulties 
to  be  overcome.  Sir  Joseph  Trutch,  one  of  the  delegates,  was  fully  cognizant 
of  the  difficulties,  however,  when  he  made  a  speech  at  Ottawa  in  reply  to 
the  toast  to  his  health  at  a  banquet  given  in  his  honor  before  his  visit  to 
England.  Speaking  about  the  limit  of  time,  he  said :  "  If  it  had  been  put 
at  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  British  Columbia  would  have  been  just  as  well 
satisfied,  and  if  the  estimated  period  had  been  reduced  to  eight  years  it  would 
not  have  been  better  pleased.  But  some  definite  period  for  the  completion 
of  this  work  the  delegates  from  British  Columbia  insisted  upon  as  a  neces- 
sary safeguard  to  our  colony  in  entering  into  the  proposed  union.  To  argue 
that  any  other  interpretation  will  be  placed  upon  this  railway  engagement  by 
British  Columbia  than  that  which  I  have  given  to  you  as  my  construction  of 
it,  to  argue  that  she  expects  that  it  will  be  carried  out  in  the  exact  interpreta- 
tions of  the  words  themselves,  regardless  of  all  circumstances,  is  a  fallacy 
which  cannot  bear  the  test  of  common  sense.  I  am  sure  you  will  find  that 
British  Columbia  is  a  pretty  intelligent  community,  which  will  be  apt  to  take  a 
business  view  of  the  matter.  She  will  expect  that  this  railway  shall  be  com- 
menced in  two  years,  for  that  is  clearly  practicable,  and  she  will  also  expect 
that  the  financial  ability  of  the  Dominion  will  be  exerted  to  its  utmost,  within 
the  limit  of  reason,  to  complete  it  within  the  time  named  in  the  agreement. 
But  you  may  rest  assured  that  she  will  not  regard  this  railway  agreement  as 
a  '  cast  iron  contract,'  as  it  has  been  called,  or  desire  that  it  should  be  carried 
out  in  any  other  way  than  as  will  secure  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  Dominion, 
of  which  she  is  a  part.  I  have  understood  this  railway  engagement  in  this 
way  from  the  first,  and  still  so  understand  it." 

This  statement  of  Sir  Joseph  Trutch  is  most  important  to  keep  in  mind. 
At  a  later  date  it  was  quoted  in  justification  on  the  part  of  the  Dominion 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  223 

Government  for  the  delay  in  fulfilling  the  terms  of  union  in  regard  to  the 
building  of  a  railway  as  agreed  upon.  In  the  next  chapter  the  sequel  to 
Confederation  in  the  long  and  sore  dispute  over  the  construction  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  is  dealt  with  at  some  length.  Between  that  and  the  per- 
sonal reminiscences  supplied  by  Mr.  Higgins  in  a  previous  part  of  this  his- 
tory, a  very  complete  record  is  supplied  of  a  memorable  and  crucial  period  in 
affairs  of  the  province. 


224  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


CHAPTER  X. 

BRITISH  COLUMBIA  AND  THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY. 

1871-1881. 

On  July  23rd,  1871,  Governor  Musgrave  bade  farewell  to  the  province. 
His  Excellency  had  been  appointed  for  the  special  purpose  of  preparing  the 
way  for  the  entrance  of  British  Columbia  into  the  Canadian  Confederation, 
and  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  performed  his  delicate  and  difficult  mission 
with  diplomatic  skill  and  ability.  Thus  another  chapter  in  the  history  of  the 
country  was  completed. 

The  next  great  task  to  be  performed,  in"  order  to  give  full  effect  to  the 
treaty  just  completed,  was  the  construction  of  the  railway  which  was  the  v-ery 
issue  of  the  bond.  Here  we  enter  upon  the  consideration  of  a  phase  of  pro- 
vincial history  as  important  as  any  we  shall  probably  ever  have  to  deal  with, 
and  an  endeavor  will  be  made  to  set  forth  clearly  the  chief  points  in  the  long- 
standing and,  at  times,  bitter  dispute  between  the  province  and  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  which  arose  out  of  the  efforts  of  the  former  to  secure  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  contract  with  respect  to  the  promised  communication  by  rail  from 
east  to  west.  If  Confederation  in  British  Columbia  was  difficult  to  bring 
about,  the  carrying  out  of  the  terms  proved  to  be  still  more  difficult  and 
was  productive  of  so  much  delay  and  irritation  that  at  one  time  there  threat- 
ened to  be  an  abortive  ending  of  the  hopes  of  all  those  who  had  labored  for 
the  union.  As  the  Imperial  authorities  had  intervened  to  smooth  the  way 
for  British  Columbia  entering  the  Dominion,  so  it  was  afterwards  found  ex- 
pedient that  they  should  assist  in  smoothing  her  pathway  in  the  Dominion. 
As  all  things  end,  so  in  this  instance,  there  was  an  end  to  dispute  and  a  happy 
consummation  was  reached  in  the  commencement  of  the  railway,  which  her- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  225 

aided  the  dawn  of  new  hopes  and  foretold  prosperity.  The  hatchet  was 
buried,  old  fends  were  forgfotten  and  thereafter  the  province  held  loyally  to 
Confederation. 

In  committing  itself  to  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
within  ten  years  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  Canada  had  undertaken  a  task 
which  seemed  almost  impossible  of  fulfillment,  and  little  time  had  elapsed 
before  it  became  apparent  that  the  Dominion  Government  was  not  prepared 
to  comply  with  the  let+er  of  the  compact.  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald.  in  his 
anxiety  to  bring  about  the  union  of  the  British  North  American  possessions, 
had  acceded  to  the  wishes  of  the  province,  but  in  so  doing  had  evidently 
underestimated  the  tremendous  engineering  difficulties  which  would  have  to 
be  overcome  before  the  road  was  an  accomplished  fact.  Canada  had  entered 
into  the  agreement  with  entire  sincerity,  but  also  in  ignorance  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  to  be  traversed  by  the  railway.  It  is,  therefore,  not  sur- 
prising that  many  and  great  delays  occurred.  British  Columbia  contended, 
and  rightfully  so,  that  the  construction,  or  at  least  the  commencement,  of  the 
railway  within  a  reasonable  period  was  of  the  gravest  importance,  and  in- 
deed railway  communication  with  the  east  had  been  practically  the  sole  in- 
ducement that  led  the  province  to  enter  Confederation.  Her  public  men,  in 
common  with  the  people  of  Eastern  Canada,  recognized  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  hold  Canada  responsible  for  the  exact  fulfillment  of  Section  II  of 
the  Terms  of  Union.  All  that  they  desired  was  that  an  earnest  should  be 
given  of  the  good  faith  of  the  Dominion  in  complying  with  its  spirit. 

In  June,  1873,  an  Order-in-Council  was  passed  fixing  Esquimalt  on 
Vancouver  Island  as  the  western  terminus  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 
and  it  further  provided  that  a  line  of  railway  should  be  built  between  that 
point  and  Seymour  Narrows.  The  order  also  recommended  that  British  Co- 
lumbia should  convey  to  the  Dominion  Government  a  strip  of  twenty  miles 
in  width  on  the  east  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  along  the  proposed  route  of 
the  railway.     Much  satisfaction  was  expressed  by  the  people  of  the  province 


226  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

at  this  evidence  of  the  wilHngness  of  the  Canadian  Government  to  fulfill  the 
Terms  of  Union.  Two  years,  however,  had  elapsed  and  beyond  the  expendi- 
ture of  some  $400,000  in  preliminary  surveys,  nothing  had  been  done  by 
Canada,  and  the  people  of  British  Columbia  did  not  attempt  to  hide  their 

disappointment. 

Mr.  Edgar's  Mission. 

In  July,  1873,  the  Executive  Council  of  the  province,  through  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, Sir  Joseph  Trutch,  entered  a  strong  protest  against  further 
delay  in  the  matter  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  Terms  of  Union,  and  it  became 
apparent  to  the  Dominion  Government  that  no  small  amount  of  dissatisfaction 
existed  in  the  western  province. 

In  September  of  this  year  Premier  De  Cosmos  proceeded  to  Ottawa 
and  afterwards  to  London  as  a  special  delegate  from  the  Government  of 
British  Columbia  to  negotiate  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the 
graving  dock  at  E^quimalt.  He  arranged  that  British  Columbia  should  re- 
ceive $250,000  in  lieu  of  a  guarantee  of  interest  on  $500,000  for  ten  years 
after  the  construction  of  the  dock.  Mr.  De  Cosmos'  report  was  laid  on  the 
table  during  the  session  of  the  following  year,  when  another  protest  against 
delay  was  passed  and  forwarded  to  Ottawa. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Government  of  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  had  be- 
come involved  in  the  famous  "  Pacific  Scandal."  Sir  John  was  forced  to 
resign  in  November,  1873,  and  Mr,  Alexander  Mackenzie  was  called  upon 
by  the  Earl  of  Dtifferin,  then  Governor-General  of  Canada,  to  form  a  Min- 
istry. On  taking  office  he  found  himself  heir  to  the  problem  of  building  a 
trans-continental  railway,  as  provided  in  the  treaty  with  British  Columbia. 
At  the  inception  of  his  management  of  affairs,  he  made,  tactically  at  least,  a 
very  grave  mistake  by  boldly  outlining  in  a  public  speech  at  Sarnia  the  policy 
which  he  intended  to  pursue  in  that  matter,  and  from  his  remarks  on  this 
occasion  it  was  easy  to  infer  that  he  deemed  it  impossible  to  carry  out  the 
Terms  of  Union  in  their  entirety  as  they  affected  railway  construction.     In 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  227 

the  meantime,  public  feeling  in  British  Columbia  was  becoming  roused  and 
Mr.  Mackenzie  decided  to  despatch  Mr.  J.  D.  Edgar  to  the  Pacific  Coast  to 
examine  into  and  fully  report  upon  the  whole  question.     Mr.   Edgar  was 
empowered  to  make  certain  proposals  to  the  provincial  authorities  with  a 
view  to  an  ultimate  settlement  of  matters  in  dispute.     He  was  also'  instructed 
to  point  out  that  it  was  impossible  to  construct  the  road  within  the  time  speci- 
fied, and  that  any  attempt  to  do  so  would  only  result  in  "  very  great  useless 
expense  and  financial  disorder  " ;  and  to  state  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
Dominion  to  reach  the  seaboard  of  the  Pacific    only,    not    Esquimalt    or 
Nanaimo.     It  was  also  to  be  intimated  that  "  any  further  extension  beyond 
the  headwaters  of  Bute  Inlet  or  whatever  portion  of  the  sea  waters  may  be 
reached,  may  depend  entirely  on  the  spirit  shown  by  themselves  in  consenting 
to  a  reasonable  time  or  a  modification  of  the  terms  originally  agreed  to."     It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Dominion  Government  had  gone  beyond  the 
Terms  of  Union  in  the  matter  of  the  graving  dock  at  Elsquimalt,  and  had 
also  agreed  to  advance  in  cash  the  balance  of  the  amount  of  debt  with  which 
the  province  had  entered  Confederation.     The  Dominion,  therefore,  not  un- 
reasonably perhaps,  expected  that  British  Columbia  would  be  actuated  by  a 
similar  tolerant  spirit.     But  the  Federal  Ministry  apparently  entirely  failed 
to  comprehend  the  intense  feeling  on  the  subject  in  the  province  where  the 
railway  was  considered,  as  indeed  it  was,  of  vital  importance.     With  regard 
to  the  proposals  which  Mr.  Edgar  had  been  empowered  to  make  in  behalf  of 
the  Canadian  Government  to  the  provincial  authorities,  it  may  be  added  that 
they  were  briefly  as  follows:     The  Dominion  Government  would  undertake 
the  commencement  of  a  railway  on  Vancouver  Island,  traversing  northward 
to  the  point  of  crossing;  to  provide  for  the  diligrnt  prosecution  of  surveys 
on  the  Mainland ;  and  that  as  soon  as  the  railway  could  be  placed  under  con- 
struction no  less  than  $1,500,000  would  be  spent  annually. 

Mr.  Edgar  reached  Victoria  in  May,  1874,  and  immediately  entered  into 
communication  with  the  Honorable  George  A.  Walkem,  then  Attorney-Gen- 


228  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

eral.  He  endeavored,  in  addition  to  the  work  involved  by  tedious  negotia- 
tions, to  ascertain  the  popular  view  on  the  railway  question  by  traveling  and 
mingling  with  the  people  on  the  Mainland.  Unfortunately,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Dominion,  though  an  able  and  conscientious  man,  accomplished 
nothing,  and  it  is  quite  clear  from  his  method  of  procedure  that  diplomacy 
was  not  his  forte.  After  the  negotiations  had  been  continued  for  some  time, 
the  local  Government,  through  Mr.  Walkem,  informed  Mr.  Edgar  that  they 
were  not  satisfied  as  to  his  status,  and  desired  the  authorities  at  Ottawa  to 
state  whether  their  representative  was  clothed  with  full  power  to  negotiate, 
and  whether  proposals  made  by  him  would  be  considered  as  binding  by  the 
Government  of  Canada.  Mr.  Mackenzie  intimated  in  reply  that  the  position 
of  Mr.  Edgar  had  been  plainly  indicated.  The  latter,  however,  was  imme- 
diately recalled,  his  mission,  if  anything,  having  rather  increased  than  less- 
ened the  difficulties  of  the  situation.  The  failure  of  Mr.  Edgar  to  procure 
an  amicable  settlement  only  tended  to  increase  the  friction  between  the  two 
Governments,  which  now  assumed  threatening  proportions.  A  profound 
anxiety  was  expressed  by  Mr.  Walkem  and  his  colleagues  regarding  the  in- 
tentions of  the  Canadian  Ministiy,  and  the  dilatory  action  of  the  Dominion 
was  viewed  with  alarm  and  disappointment.  The  Ottawa  authorities  were 
anxious  that  a  change  should  be  made  in  the  railway  terms,  and  contended 
that  they  could  not  be  called  upon  to  carry  out  the  original  provisions,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  route  of  the  railway  had  not  yet  been  determined, 
although  every  effort  had  been  made  to  settle  this  all-important  point.  The 
Provincial  Government,  on  the  other  hand,  while  evincing  no  desire  to  hold 
Canada,  in  face  of  the  opposition  of  the  majority  of  its  people,  responsible  for 
the  carrying  out  of  these  terms  to  the  letter,  did  not  hesitate  to  demand  that 
the  Ministry  should  give  a  definite  assurance  with  regard  to  the  commence- 
ment of  construction  and  the  completion  of  this  great  work. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  opinion  of  the  promise  of  the  Dominion  Government 
to  construct  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  229 

excerpt  from  his  letter  of  instructions  to  Mr.  Edg-ar :  "  Yoti  will  also  put 
them  in  remembrance  of  the  terms  they  themselves  proposed,  which  terms 
were  assented  to  by  their  local  Legislature,  and  point  out  that  it  was  only 
the  insane  act  of  the  administration  here  which  gave  such  conditions  of 
union  to  Columbia;  that  it  could  only  have  been  because  that  administration 
sought  additional  means  of  procuring  extensive  patronage  immediately  be- 
fore the  general  election,  and  saw  in  coming  contests  the  means  of  carrying 
the  elections,  that  the  province  obtained  on  paper  terms  which  at  the  time 
were  known  to  be  impossible  of  fulfillment.''  He  was  evidently  appalled  by 
the  immensity  of  the  undertaking,  and  tO'  his  cautious  mind  it  meant  financial 
disaster  to  the  Dominion.  Though  great  in  rectitude,  Mackenzie  did  not 
possess  the  wider  vision  or  inspiring  imagination  of  his  predecessor;  nor  did 
he  realize  the  resources  and  possibilities  of  the  far  west.  There  were  indeed 
few  Canadians  at  the  time  who'  did. 

The  Great  Dispute. 

Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  view  of  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  insuperable  diffi- 
culties, on  several  occasions  endeavored  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  Provincial 
Government  to  a  modification  of  the  terms.  The  province,  however,  was 
strenuously  opposed  to  his  proposals.  Their  mere  suggestion  aroused  intense 
feeling,  and  although  the  Dominion  Government  averred  that  it  was  their 
intention  to  push  forward  the  work  of  construction  with  all  possible  despatch, 
and  that  they  had  not  the  slightest  desire  to  repudiate  their  obligations  to 
the  province,  such  assurances  were  received  with  no  little  distrust.  Indeed, 
feeling  became  so  strong  in  Victoria  that  a  public  meeting  was  called  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1874,  to  protest  against  the  Government  of  Mr.  De  Cosmos  assenting 
to  any  modification  of  the  railway  terms.  The  terms  of  the  resolutions  passed 
and  the  sequel,  as  it  affected  the  local  legislature,  are  given  in  the  previous 
chapter  by  Mr.  Higgins. 

As  previously  mentioned,  it  had  been  provided  by  an  Order-in-Council, 


230  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

passed  in  June,  1873,  that  Esquimalt  should  be  the  terminus  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  and -in  order  to  make  this  possible  it  was  decided  that  the 
line  should  be  carried  across  Seymour  Narrows.  This  decision,  in  the  light 
of  later  events,  proved,  to  say  the  least,  premature.  The  residents  of  Van- 
couver Island,  who  at  first  were  naturally  elated  at  the  determination  of  the 
Dominioq,  evinced  the  greatest  hostility  to  a  change  of  route,  even  when 
the  enormous  cost  and  the  difficulty  of  bridging  the  Narrows  eventually 
proved  that  the  scheme  was,  for  the  time  being,  impracticable.  The  selec- 
tion of  a  terminus  proved  a  fruitful  source  of  friction  between  the  two  Gov- 
ernments. The  British  Columbia  administration  strenuously  endeavored  to 
secure  the  construction  of  the  Island  Railway  as  a  portion  of  the  main  line, 
as  indeed,  from  the  tenor  of  certain  despatches,  had  evidently  been  the  orig- 
inal  intention  of  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald.  At  a  later  date,  however,  the  Do- 
minion Government  asserted  that  the  construction  of  a  line  of  railway  on 
Vancouver  Island  was  intended  only  as  a  local  work,  which  it  was  proposed 
should  in  some  measure  indemnify  the  province  for  the  loss  sustained  by  the 
non-fulfillment  of  the  Terms  of  Union.  Mr.  Walkem  on  the  part  of  the 
province  combated  with  much  acumen  and  force  any  such  interpretation  of 
the  action  of  the  Federal  Government.  However,  as  will  be  shown  later,  it 
was  at  last  settled  by  mutual  consent  that  the  terminus  should  be  on  Burrard 
Inlet.  Throughout  the  whole  discussion  the  city  of  Victoria,  for  obvious 
reasons,  had  endeavored  in  every  possible  way  to  secure  the  location  of  the 
terminus  at  Esquimalt,  and  was  opposed  to  any  modification  of  the  terms 
that  would  interfere  with  the  fulfillment  of  the  cherished  desire  of  its  citizens. 
While  the  Island,  through  "  The  Terms  of  Union  Preservation  League," 
strenuously  opposed  the  alteration  or  modification  of  the  terms  and  condi- 
tions upon  which  the  province  had  entered  Confederation,  the  Mainland  was 
not  at  all  unanimous  on  the  question.  In  fact,  a  numerously  signed  petition 
was  forwarded  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor-General  in  the  summer  of 
1874  by  the  residents  of  the  latter  portion  of  the  Province,  which  stated  that 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  231 

in  their  opinion  "  the  Order  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Canada,  of  June  7th, 
1873,  is  in  no  way  binding  on  Your  Excellency's  present  Government  and 
that  a  line  of  railway  along"  the  seaboard  of  Vancouver  Island  to  Esquimalt 
is  no  part  of  the  Terms  of  Union."  The  document  in  question  then  re- 
cited "  that  in  any  arrang-ement  which  may  be  entered  into  for  an  extension 
of  time  for  the  commencement  or  completion  of  the  railway,  any  considera- 
tion granted  by  the  Dominion  Government  to  the  Province  of  British  Colum- 
bia, should  be  such  as  would  be  generally  advantageous  to  the  whole  Prov- 
ince, and  not  of  merely  a  local  nature,  benefiting  only  a  section  thereof." 
The  petitioners  also  added  that  in  their  opinion  it  would  be  "  unwise,  im- 
politic, and  unjust  to  select  any  line  for  the  railway  until  time  be  given  for 
a  thorough  survey  of  the  different  routes  on  the  Mainland,"  as  it  was  be- 
lieved that  such  surveys  would  result  "  in  the  selection  of  the  Eraser  Valley 
route,  which  is  the  only  one  that  connects  the  fertile  districts  of  the  interior 
with  the  seaboard."  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  sectional  feeling  had  been 
aroused,  which  unfortunately  continued  to  exist  long  after  its  direct  cause 
had  been  removed. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  an  impartial  conclusion  respecting  the  situation  as 
it  actually  existed,  it  is  necessary  to  examine  the  conditions,  circumstances 
arid  state  of  public  feeling  at  the  time,  both  in  British  Columbia  and  in 
Eastern  Canada.  When  the  people  of  the  Province  entered  Confederation, 
expectations  were  high  and  anticipations  eager  and  sanguine.  The  change 
betokened  to  them  an  era  of  development  and  prosperity,  such  as  they  had 
not  experienced  since  the  early  gold  mining  days.  Buoyed  up  with  such 
hopes  they  did  not  realize  the  difficulties  imposed  on  the  Government  of 
Canada  and  the  attitude  towards  the  building  of  a  trans-continental  line 
of  railway,  in  the  circumstances  and  for  the  objects  to  be  gained,  assumed 
by  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  older  Canada.  As  time  passed  and 
their  expectations  were  not  realized,  distrust  and  disappointment  succeeded 
hope. 


232  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Day  by  day  it  became  more  evident  that  the  Dominion  Government 
were  loath  to  carry  out  the  obHgations  assumed  in  behalf  of  British  Colum- 
bia, and  a  bitterness  of  feeling  developed  that  boded  no  good  for  the  future 
of  the  relations  between  the  West  and  the  East.  Isolated  as  the  Province 
was,  with  declining  trade,  and  mining,  except  in  fitful  bursts  of  excitement 
as  new  finds  were  made,  stagnant,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  its 
people  regarded  the  failure  to  proceed  with  construction  of  the  railway  as 
an  absolute  and  unjustifiable  breach  of  faith  and  the  violation  of  the  terms 
of  a  solemn  treaty.  On  the  other  hand,  the  people  of  Eastern  Canada,  with- 
out knowledge  of  the  country  and  not  realizing  what  the  West  had  in  store 
for  them,  looked  askance  at  the  proposition  and  honestly  believed  that  Sir 
John  Macdonald  had  bartered  natural  solvency  in  a  bargain  that  had  little  else 
than  sentimental  considerations  to  jusify  it.  In  those  days  Canada  was  in 
an  experimental  stage  as  a  Confederacy  and  the  task  of  bridging  a  continent 
by  a  line  of  railway,  which  today  is  undertaken  without  fear,  seemed  beyond 
the  limits  of  practicability — a  hair-brained  scheme.  There  were  men  of 
inij  gir-ation,  enthusiasts,  who,  fired  with  zeal  by  an  undertaking  so  pregnant 
with  possibilities  for  the  Dominion  and  who,  bounding  over  physical  ob^ 
stacles  and  eliminating  time  and  distance,  reached  what  we  have  already 
realized;  but  they  were  here  and  there.  Alexander  Mackenzie  did  not  be- 
long to  that  class  of  statesmen;  he  had  been  moulded  in  the  school  of  hard 
facts,  and  rocks  and  mountains  and  long  distances  were  verities  to  him  not 
to  be  overcome  by  any  effort  of  the  imagination.  He  was  as  prosaic  as  he 
was  honest,  and  was  deeply  imbued  with  the  idea  that  the  construction  of  this 
enormous  work  was  impossible  unless  it  should  be  spread  over  a  number  of 
years.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  it  was  a  physical  impossibility  to 
build  the  railway  in  accordance  with  the  terms  agreed  upon,  and  that  any 
attempt  to  do  so  could  only  result  in  grave  financial  peril.  Mackenzie  rep- 
resented the  conservative  element,  who  looked  askance  at  big  things  without 
the  money  in  hand  to  see  them  through.     As  between  British  Columbia  and 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  233 

Eastern  Canada  neither  one  could  put  itself  in  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
other,  and  so  the  breach  grew  wider.  With  the  people  of  the  former  the 
building  of  a  railway  was  the  one  object  of  their  living,  the  sunimmn  bonum 
of  their  hopes,  their  financial  salvation.  The  Dominion  made  overtures, 
and  offered  certain  concessions  in  order  that  the  Province  might  be  com- 
pensated for  the  loss  it  had  suffered  through  the  inability  of  Canada  to 
fulfill  what  were  treaty  obligations.  These  overtures,  however,  were  re- 
jected by  the  Provincial  administration  as  it  was  feared  that  their  accept- 
ance would  jeopardize  the  right  of  the  Province  to  demand  the  immediate 
commencement  of  the  more  important  work  on  the  Mainland.  The  Do- 
minion would  not  accede  to  the  Provincial  demands  and  a  dead-lock  con- 
sequently ensued.  The  discontent  at  last  became  so  great  that  the  admin- 
istration determined  to  dispatch  a  petition  to  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen.  ,  A 
memorial  was  therefore  drawn  up,  complaining  of  the  non-fulfillment  of 
the  Terms  of  Union  on  the  part  of  the  Dominion  Government,  and  setting 
forth  clearly  and  concisely  the  grievances  of  the  Province,  and  the  hard- 
ships that  it  had  endured  on  account  of  the  dilatoriness  of  the  authorities  at 
Ottawa.     The  petition  concluded  with  the  following  paragraphs : 

"  That  British  Columbia  has  fulfilled  all  the  conditions  of  her  agree- 
ment tmder  the  Terms  of  Union : 

"  That  the  Dominion  has  not  completed  the  necessary  railway  explora- 
tions and  surveys;  nor  since  1872  has  any  effort,  at  all  adequate  to  the  un- 
dertaking, been  made  up  to  the  present  time : 

"  That  notwithstanding  the  fact  on  the  seventh  day  of  June,  1873,  by 
Order  of  the  Privy  Council  '  Esquimalt'  was'  '  fixed'  as  the  point  of  com- 
mencement on  the  Pacific,  and  it  was  decided  that  a  line  should  '  be  located 
between  that  harbor  and  Seymour  Narrows;'  and  notwithstanding,  further, 
that  a  valuable  belt  of  land,  along  the  line  indicated,  has  ever  since  been 
reserved  by  British  Columbia,  at  the  instance  of  the  Dominion,  and  for  tho 


234  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

purposes,  ostensibly,  of  immediate  construction,  the  Dominion  Government 
have  failed  and  neglected  to  commence  construction  up  to  the  present  time: 

"  That  although  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  admit  that  the  agree- 
ment v^ith  British  Columbia  has  been  violated,  and  acknowledged  that  im- 
mediate construction  might  be  commenced  at  Esquimalt,  and  active  work 
vigorously  prosecuted  upon  *  that  portion  of  the  railway '  between  Esqui- 
malt and  Nanaimo,  yet  they  virtually  refuse  to  commence  such  construction 
unless  British  Columbia  consents  to  materially  change  the  Railway  Clause 
of  the  Treaty : 

"  That,  in  consequence  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  Dominion,  Brit- 
ish Columbia  is  suffering  great  loss;  her  trade  has  been  damaged  and  un- 
settled; her  general  prosperity  has  become  seriously  affected;  her  people 
have  become  discontented;  a  feeling  of  depression  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
confident  anticipations  of  commercial  and  political  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  the  speedy  construction  of  a  great  railway,  uniting  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific   shores   of   Your   Majesty's   Dominion   on   the   Continent   of   North 

America." 

The  Carnarvon  Terms. 

It  was  furthermore  decided  that  the  Honorable  George  A.  Walkem, 
Attorney  General,  who,  by  the  way,  had  always  displayed  the  utmost  dili- 
gence in  pressing  upon  the  Dominion  the  necessity  of  complying  with  the 
Terms  of  Union,  should  proceed  immediately  to  Ottawa  and  from  thence 
to  London  to  press  the  claims  of  the  Province.  The  petition  to  Her  Majesty 
was  in  due  course  forwarded  to  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  Secretary  of  State 
for  the  Colonies,  who  was  also  informed  of  Mr.  Walkem's  departure  for 
England.  Earl  Carnarvon  in  a  dispatch  (June  i8th,  1874)  to  His  Ex- 
cellency the  Governor  General,  intimated  that  although  he  had  no  desire  to 
interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Canada  he  would  gladly  waive  all  considerations 
of  delicacy,  as  he  was  strongly  impressed  with  the  great  importance  of 
effecting  a  speedy  and  amicable  settlement  of  the  matters  in  dispute  between 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  235 

the  Provincial  and  Dominion  Governments.  He,  therefore,  signified  his 
willingness  to  tender  his  good  offices  as  arbitrator,  provided  that  all  con- 
cerned were  agreeable  to  the  proposal  and  that  his  decision  should  be  ac- 
cepted as  final.  Each  party  was  requested  to  furnish  a  statement,  and  on 
these  written  reports  a  decision  would  be  rendered.  Both  the  Dominion 
and  Provincial  administrations  accepted  Earl  Carnarvon's  generous  offer 
and  also  agreed  to  be  bound  by  his  decision.  Thus  it  seemed  that  the  un- 
happy controversy  which  had  been  carried  on  with  more  or  less  bitterness  by 
both  sides,  was  in  a  fair  way  to  be  settled  in  a  friendly  manner. 

The  Dominion  Government  in  a  report  of  the  Privy  Council  dated  July 
8th,  1874,  replied  at  some  length  to  the  charges  preferred  by  British  Colum- 
bia. It  was  carefully  pointed  out,  and  much  was  made  of  the  fact,  that  the 
passage  of  the  section  in  the  Terms  of  Union  relating  to  the  construction  of 
the  Pacific  Railway  had  been  strongly  opposed  in  Parliament,  and  was  only 
carried  by  a  small  majority  of  ten.  It  was  also  claimed  that  even  to  obtain 
this  majority  the  Government  of  the  day  had  been  obliged  to  propose  a 
resolution  that  distinctly  laid  down  that  the  railway  should  be  "  constructed 
and  worked  by  private  enterprise,  and  not  by  the  Dominion  Government,  and 
that  the  public  aid  given  to  secure  that  undertaking  should  consist  of  such 
liberal  grants  of  land,  and  such  subsidy  in  money  or  other  aid,  not  increas- 
ing the  present  rate  of  taxation,  as  the  Parliament  of  Canada  shall  hereafter 
determine." 

Mr.  Joseph  Trutch,  the  Provincial  delegate,  who  had  been  at  Ottawa 
when  the  Terms  were  discussed,  had,  as  already  stated,  intimated  at  a  public 
meeting  that  the  Province  did  not  regard  the  Terms  of  Union  as  to  a  railway 
binding  to  the  letter,  but  all  that  was  required  was  that  the  railway  should 
be  built  as  soon  and  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  The  Federal  Ministry 
contended  that  such  statements  showed  very  clearly  that  the  "  Terms  were 
directory  rather  than  mandatory."  Furthermore  it  was  pointed  out  that 
over  one  million  dollars  had  been  voted  for  surveys,  more  than  one-half  of 


236  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

which  had  been  spent  in  British  Columbia.  In  spite  of  strenuous  exertions, 
however,  the  engineers  had  not  been  able  to  locate  any  portion  of  the  line, 
and,  therefore,  it  had  been  impossible  to  vigorously  prosecute  the  work  of 
construction. 

It  was  also  mentioned  that  in  March,  1873,  Sir  Hugh  Allan  had  formed 
a  company  which  had  undertaken  to  complete  the  line  for  a  grant  of  $30,- 
ooo,cxx)  and  20,000  acres  of  land  per  mile.  Sir  Hugh  journeyed  to  London, 
where  he  endeavored  to  obtain  financial  assistance,  but  his  efforts  resulted 
in  failure  and  in  consequence  the  company  relinquished  their  charter. 

The  Dominion  also  referred  to  the  fact,  that  in  their  solicitude  for 
the  welfare  of  the  Province,  Mr,  Edgar  had  been  dispatched  on  a  special 
mission  to  the  Government  of  British  Columbia,  and  although  Mr.  Edgar 
had  been  empowered  to  make  certain  proposals  regarding  an  amelioration 
of  the  railway  conditions,  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Province  refused  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with  him  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not  a  duly  ac- 
credited agent.  The  Dominion  Government  stigmatized  the  action  of  Brit- 
ish Columbia  in  this  connection  as  a  "  mere  technical  pretense."  Again  it 
was  contended  that  the  public  feeling  of  the  whole  Dominion  was  so  strong- 
ly against  "  the  fatal  extravagance  involved  in  the  terms  agreed  to  by  the 
late  Government,  that  no  Government  could  live  that  would  attempt  or 
rather  pretend  to  attempt  their  literal  fulfillment."  It  was  averred  that 
public  meetings  had  been  held  both  on  Vancouver  Island  and  the  Mainland 
which  had  condemned  the  action  of  the  Provincial  Executive  in  not  acceding 
to  the  proposed  modifications.  The  report  concludes  with  a  reference  to 
the  action  of  the  Government  respecting  the  Graving  Dock  at  Esquimalt 
which,  it  is  argued,  clearly  demonstrates  that  the  Canadian  Ministry  had 
always  exhibited  a  profound  desire  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  Terms  of 
Union,  and  even  to  go  beyond  them  when  circumstances  warranted  such 
behavior.  Under  the  Terms  of  Union  the  Dominion  was  bound  to  guar- 
antee five  per  cent  on  $500,000  for  ten  years  after  the  construction  of  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  237 

dock.  The  Local  Government,  however,  on  finding  that  it  was  impossible 
to  have  the-  work  performed  on  the  basis  of  this  subsidy,  solicited  further 
aid  from  Ottawa  and  in  order  to  comply  with  this  request  the  Dominion 
Government  obtained  authority  from  Parliament  to  advance  the  sum  of 
$250,000  as  the  work  progressed. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  certainly  nrepared  a  careful  and  plausible  statement  of 
the  case  from  the  Dominion  standpoint.  Briefly,  he  contended  that,  al- 
though it  had  been  ascertained  that  the  literal  fulfillment  of  the  Terms  of 
Union  was  impossible,  Canada  had  always  conscientiously  endeavored  to 
keep  faith  with  British  Columbia,  and  that  in  face  of  tremendous  difficulties 
the  work  of  mapping  out  the  route  of  the  Pacific  Railway  had  been  prosecuted 
with  all  diligence,  and,  further,  that  no  expense  had  been  spared  that  was 
compatible  with  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government. 

Upon  arriving  in  London  Mr.  Walkem  immediately  proceeded  to  lay 
before  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon  the  case  for  British  Columbia.  The  main 
points  of  the  controversy  were  fully  discussed  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Colonies  expressed  satisfaction  at  the  moderate  statement  made  on  be- 
half of  the  Province.  Mr.  Walkem's  tact  and  knowledge  certainly  cleared 
the  way  for  a  prompt  solution  of  the  problem.  The  Dominion  Government 
presented  their  side  of  the  case  in  a  Minute  of  Council,  dealing  at  length 
with  the  whole  question. 

After  a  delay  of  a  few  weeks,  during  which  period  both  parties  to  the 
dispute  laid  counter  statements  before  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  a  decision  was 
rendered  which  was  embodied  in  a  dispatch  to  the  Earl  of  Dufferin,  then 
Governor  General.  After  expressing  satisfaction  at  the  clear  and  complete 
statements  furnished  by  the  Dominion  and  Provincial  Governments,  and  at 
the  temperate  and  forbearing  manner  in  which  both  sides  of  the  case  had 
been  presented,  the  Secretary  of  State  remarked  that  any  decision  he  might 
render  must  of  necessity  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  compromise,  and  as  such 
it  was  not  improbable  that  he  might  fall  short  of  giving  complete  satisfac- 


238  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

tipn  to  either  side.  It  was  also  pointed  out  that  under  the  amended  terms 
British  Columbia  would,  after  all,  receive  substantial  advantages  from  the 
union  with  Canada,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  Dominion  would  be  de- 
livered of  no  inconsiderable  part  of  those  obligations  which  had  been  all  too 
hastily  assumed  in  the  first  instance,  without  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  so  great  and  important  a  work  could  be  carried  into 
effect.  Briefly  the  remarks  of  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  in  handing  down  his 
decision,  were  as  follows: 

1.  That  the  railway  from  Esquimalt  to  Nanaimo  shall  be  commenced 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  completed  with  all  practicable  despatch. 

2.  That  the  surveys  on  the  Mainland  shall  be  pushed  on  with  the  ut- 
most vigor.  On  this  point,  after  considering  the  representations  of  your, 
ministers,  I  feel  that  I  have  no  alternative  but  tO'  reply,  as  I  do  most  fully 
and  readily,  upon  their  assurance  that  no  legitimate  effort  or  expense  will 
be  spared,  first,  to  determine  the  best  route  for  the  line,  and  secondly,  to 
proceed  with  the  details  of  the  engineering  work.  It  would  be  distasteful 
to  me,  if,  indeed,  it  were  not  impossible,  to  prescribe  strictly  any  minimum  of 
time  or  expenditure  with  regard  to  work  of  so  uncertain  a  nature;  but,  hap- 
pily, it  is  equally  impossible  for  me  to  doubt  that  your  Government  will 
loyally  do  its  best  in  every  way  to  accelerate  the  completion  of  a  duty  left 
freely  to  its  sense  of  honor  and  justice. 

3.  That  the  wagon  road  and  telegraph  line  shall  be  immediately  con- 
structed. There  seems  here  to  be  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  special 
value  to  the  Province  of  the  undertaking  to  complete  these  two  works,  but 
after  considering  what  has  been  said,  I  am  of  opinion  that  they  should  both 
be  proceeded  with  at  once,  as  indeed  is  suggested  by  your  ministers. 

4.  That  $2,000,000  a  year,  and  not  $1,500,000,  shall  be  the  minimum 
expenditure  on  railway  works  within  the  Province  from  the  date  at  which 
the  surveys  are  sufficiently  completed  to  enable  that  amount  to  be  expended 
on  construction.     In  naming  this  amount  I  understand  that  it  being  alike  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  239 

interest  and  the  wish  of  the  Dominion  Government  to  urge  on  with  all  speed 
the  completion  of  the  works  now  to  be  undertaken,  the  annual  expenditure 
will  be  as  much  in  excess  of  the  minimum,  of  $2,000,000  as  in  any  year  may 
be  found  practicable. 

5.  Lastly,  that  on  or  before  December  31st,  1898,  the  railway  shall  be 
completed  and  open  for  traffic  from  the  Pacific  seaboard  to  a  point  at  the 
western  end  of  Lake  Superior,  at  which  it  will  fall  into  connection  with  the 
existing  lines  of  railway  through  a  portion  of  the  United  States,  and  also 
with  the  navigation  of  Canadian  waters.  To  proceed  at  present  with  the 
remainder  of  the  railway  extending,  by  the  country  northward  of  Lake 
Superior,  to  the  existing  Canadian  lines,  ought  not,  in  my  opinion,  to  be  re- 
quired, and  the  time  for  undertaking  that  work  must  be  determined  by  the 
development  of  settlement  and  the  changing  circumstances  of  the  country. 
The  day  is,  however,  I  hope,  not  very  distant  when  a  continuous  line  of 
railway  through  Canadian  territory  will  be  practicable,  and  I  therefore  look 
upon  this  portion  of  the  scheme  as  postponed  rather  than  abandoned. 

The  decision  gave  satisfaction  not  only  to  the  Province  but  also  to  the 
Dominion,  in  fact,  the  latter  maintained  in  a  report  of  the  Privy  Council, 
accepting  the  new  terms,  and  approved  by  the  Governor  General  on  Decem- 
ber i8th,  1874,  that  "  the  conclusion  at  which  His  Lordship  has  arrived 
*  upholds,'  as  he  remarks,  in  the  main,  and  subject  only  to  some  modifica- 
tion of  detail,  the  policy  adopted  by  this  Government  on  this  most  embarrass- 
ing question." 

It  was  now  hoped  that  the  "  Carnarvon  Terms,"  a  name  by  which  the 
agreement  in  question  was  familiarly  known,  would  once  for  all  settle  the 
problem  of  railway  construction,  and  great  was  the  rejoicing  in  British 
Columbia  thereat.     Once  again  the  people  were  doomed  to  disappointment. 

Further  Delays. 

Two  years  went  by  and  the  construction  of  the  railway  had  not  been 
commenced  in  the  Province,  although  a  certain  amount  of  preliminary  work 


240  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

had  been  accomplished.  The  Government  of  British  Columbia  repeatedly 
demanded  that  the  Dominion  should  give  effect  to  the  "  Carnarvon  Terms," 
but  without  avail.  Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse  and  discontent  became 
so  general  in  the  Province  that  secession  was  openly  talked  of. 

In  January,   1876,  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  British  Columbia  once 
again  resorted  to  the  expedient  of  petitioning  Her  Majesty  to  compel  the 
Canadian  Government  to  redress  the  grievances  of  the  Province.     The  peti- 
tion cited  the  fact  that  although  the  Dominion   Government  had  distinctly 
consented  to  be  bound  by  the  decision  of  the  E^rl  of  Carnarvon  in  1874.  no 
real  attempt  had  been  made  to  carry  out  the  solemn  obligations  imposed  by 
that  agreement;  that  the  action  of  the  Dominion  Government  in   refusing 
to  make  an  annual  railway  expenditure  of  two  million  dollars  in  the  Province. 
in  spite  of  the  agreement  to  do  so,  if  the  performance  of  this  promise  should 
interfere  with  the  conditions  of  a  resolution  passed  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1 87 1,  after  the  Terms  of  Union  had  been  assented  to,  created  great 
dissatisfaction;  that  in  effect  the  resolution   in  question  provided  that  the 
railway  should  be  constructed  and  worked  by  private  enterprise,   and  not 
by  the  Governm.ent,  and  that  subsidies  in  land  and  money,  to  an  extent  that 
would  not  increase  the  existing  rate  of  taxation,  should  be  given  in  aid  of 
the  work;  that  the  terms  of  this  resolution  were  abandoned   in    1874,   the 
rate  of  taxation  having  been   increased   and  the  work   undertaken   by  the 
Dominion  instead  of  being  confined  to  private  enterprise,  in  accordance  with 
the  expressed  demand  of  Parliament;  that  the  residents  of  Vancouver  Island 
still  held  fast  to  the  hope  thit  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald's  assurance  would  be 
adhered  to,  that  a  section  of  the  main  line  would  run  from    Nanaimo    to 
Esquimau,  was  clearly  indicated  by  a  passage  in  the  petition  to  the  effect 
that  no  compensation  had  been  offered  by  the  Dominion  Government  for  the 
abandonment  of  this  portion  of  the   railway.     After  adverting  to   various 
other  matters   wherein  the   Canadian   Government   had   failed   to    fulfill   its 
promises,  it  was  urged  that  the  Province  had  entered  confederation  upon 


OAK  TREES. 


U  1^'  I  V 
(.  /;  I.  I  I   I' 


i      V  1  i',  II 

f   I'.   \:   C\  '.:   I     1    / 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  241 

the  distinct  and  specific  agreement  that  as  "  no  real  union  could  exist " 
without  "  speedy  communication  "  between  "  British  Columbia  and  the  east- 
ern provinces  through  British  territory,  it  was  necessary  that  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  should  be  built  by  the  Dominion  as  a  work  of  political  and 
commercial  necessity." 

British  Columbia,  it  was  pointed  out,  had  conscientiously  fulfilled  all 
the  conditions  of  her  agreement  with  Canada.  The  last  section  but  one  of 
the  petition  eloquently  stated  "that  by  reason  of  the  repeated  violations  by 
Canada  of  its  railway  engagements  with  this  Province,  all  classes  of  our 
population  have  suffered  loss;  confident  anticipations  based  on  these  engage- 
ments have  resulted  in  unexepected  and  undeserved  failure,  and  in  disap- 
pointment of  a  grave  and  damaging  character;  distrust  has  been  created 
where  trust  and  confidence  should  have  been  inspired;  trade  and  commerce 
have  been  mischievously  unsettled  and  disturbed;  the  progress  of  the  Prov- 
ince has  been  seriously  checked,  and  a  feeling  of  depression  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  confident  anticipations  of  commercial  and  political  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  the  speedy  construction  of  a  railway  which  should  prac- 
tically unite  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  shores  of  Your  Majesty's  Dominion  on 
the  continent  of  North  America." 

In  answer  to  this  indictment  the  Privy  Council  of  Canada  prepared  a 
long  report,  contending  that  from  the  first  the  Government  of  the  Dominion 
had  been  animated  by  a  desire  to  honorably  fulfill  the  engagements  to  which 
the  country  had  been  committed.  The  Imperial  Authorities  were  asked  to 
believe  that  British  Columbia,  ignoring  the  general  welfare  of  the  country, 
of  which  it  had  become  an  integral  portion  in  1871,  and  actuated  by  purely 
selfish  motives,  urgently  pressed  for  an  enormous  annual  expenditure  in 
order  that  the  small  population  dwelling  in  the  West  might  reap  vast  profits. 
It  was  maintained  that  the  behavior  of  the  Province  could  hardly  be  cal- 
culated to  induce  people  of  Canada  to  "  second  the  efforts  of  the  administra- 
tion to  redeem,  as  far  as  they  can,  the  appalling  obligations  to  which,  by  the 


242  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Terms  of  Union,  the  country  was  committed."  The  Government  repeated 
their  assertion  that  they  would  endeavor  to  construct  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  as  rapidly  as  the  resources  of  the  country  would  permit. 

Lord  Dup^ferin^s  Visit. 

The  Earl  of  Dufferin,  who  later  achieved  fame  and  success  as  a  dip- 
lomatist and  ambassador  in  Russia  and  France  and  as  Viceroy  of  India,  had 
from  his  inception  of  office  displayed  the  greatest  interest  in  the  unfortunate 
dispute  between  his  ministers  and  the  youngest  member  of  the  Canadian 
family.  He  fully  realized  the  difficulties  that  beset  the  path  of  the  admin- 
istration with  regard  to  its  railway  policy  as  it  affected  the  West,  and  de- 
sired to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  disruption  of  the  Dominion.  This  far- 
seeing  statesman  clearly  understood  that  Canada's  future  welfare  depended 
to  a  great  extent  on  her  trade  relations  with  the  Pacific.  He  intelligently 
studied  the  whole  question  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  at  all  hazards 
British  Columbia  must  form  a  part  of  the  Dominion,  in  order  that  the  Brit- 
ish possessions  in  North  America  might  become  a  great,  powerful  and  united 
country,  reaching  from  sea  to  sea.  He  perceived  that  an  all-rail  connection 
with  the  Pacific  Coast  would  in  the  future  open  rich  avenues  of  trade  with 
the  Far  East.  Canada  would  be  able  to  exchange  the  products  of  her  for- 
ests, mines  and  farms  for  the  spices,  silks  and  tea  of  the  Orient.  The 
newest  portion  of  the  New  World  would  enter  into  communication  with  a 
civilization  rivalling  Greece  and  Egypt  in  antiquity — the  Far  East  and  the 
Far  West  would  join  hands  across  the  sea.  Bearing  this  in  mind  he  de- 
cided to  visit  the  Province  with  the  intention  of  using  his  influence  with  the 
Provincial  administration  to  bring  about  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  mat- 
ters in  dispute.  He  left  Ottawa  in  1876  and  arrived  at  Victoria  after  a 
pleasant  journey  across  the  continent. 

During  his  brief  sojourn  at  Victoria  His  Excellency  took  no  little 
trouble  to  ascertain  public  opinion    concerning    the    all-important     railway 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  248 

question.     He  mingled   freely  with  the  people,   received   deputations  and  a 
a  number  of  petitions,  and  endeavored  to  become  familiar  with  the  question 
from  a  Provincial  standpoint.     While  he  frankly  admitted  that  he  had  not 
come  on  a  diplomatic  mission   for  the  purpose  of  removing  obstacles,   he 
stated  that  he  was  particularly  anxious  to  establish  a  better  understanding 
between   the   two  Governments  by  pointing  out  some  of  the  difficulties   it 
would  be  necessary  to  overcome  before  the  road  could  be  built.     He  was 
fully  aware  of  the  gravity  of  the  charge  that  Canada  had  broken  her  solemn 
pledges  regarding  the  construction  of  a  trans-continental  line,  made  at  the 
time   when    British    Columbia   entered   confederation.     His   Excellency   also 
fully  appreciated  the  disappointment  of  the  Province  at  the  non-fulfillment 
of  the  Terms  of  Union,  which  as  he  stated  had  the  force  of  an  international 
treaty;  yet,  he  contended  that  the  tremendous  difificulties  in  the  way  of  com- 
pleting the  line  within  the  stipulated  time  had  not  been  fully  realized,  either 
by  the  Provincial  or  Dominion  authorities.     In  passing  we  must  not  forget 
to  refer  to  the  memorable  speech  delivered  at  Government  House,  Victoria, 
in  which  he  ably  and  eloquently  outlined  the  history  of  the  whole  affair. 
This  speech  has  always  been  reckoned  as  a  masterpiece  of  oratory.     It  was 
a  statesmanlike  utterance  and  the  points  in  dispute  were  handled  so  carefully 
that  little  offense  was  given.     In  expressing  sympathy  with    the    Province, 
he  was  extremely  careful  to  refrain  from  making  statements  which  might 
reflect  upon  the  integrity  of  his  ministers.     In  fact,  he  rather  sought  to  re- 
lieve the  Government  of  Canada  from  the  charge  of  negligence  and  lack  of 
interest,   by  dwelling  at  considerable   length  on  the  engineering  difficulties 
of  the  route  of  the  railway.     He  referred  to  the  fact  that  although  survey 
parties  had  been  in  the  field  for  several  years  it  had  been  impossible,  upon 
the  data  acquired,  to  decide  as  to  the  best  course  for  the  line.     The  difficulty 
of  locating  a  feasible  pass  through  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  also  mentioned. 
Although  openly  avowing  that  he  had  no  right  to  speak  for  the  Canadian 
Ministry,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  take  up  the  cudgels  in  behalf  of  Sir  Alexan- 


244  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

der  Mackenzie,  and  he  particularly  disclaimed  that  there  was  the  least  de- 
sire to  break  faith  with  the  Province.  In  discussing  the  question,  remem- 
bering perhaps  that  his  hearers  were  residents  of  Vancouver  Island,  he  did 
not  forget  to  state  that  he  was  under  the  impression  that  if  Bute  Inlet  was 
selected  as  the  Mainland  terminus  of  the  railway  it  would  not  be  possible 
for  it  to  stop  there.  The  railway,  he  said,  must  under  these  circumstances 
be  prolonged  to  Esquimalt. 

Of  course  it  was  well  known  that  the  inhabitants  of  Vancouver  Island, 
for  obvious  reasons,  were  particularly  anxious  to  have  Esquimalt  made  the " 
terminus.  From  the  earliest  years  the  voice  of  the  Island  had  been  supreme 
in  the  Councils  of  the  Province,  owing  to  its  population  and  political  in- 
fluence being  far  greater  than  that  of  the  Mainland.  It  was  openly  stated 
by  leaders  of  public  opinion  on  the  Island  that  unless  the  decision  of  Sir  John 
A.  Macdonald  to  make  Esquimalt  the  terminus  should  be  adhered  to,  they 
would  take  British  Columbia  out  of  confederation.  It  is  certainly  true  that 
the  Governor  General  lessened  to  a  great  extent  the  irritation  caused  by  the 
action  .of  the  Dominion,  and  his  explanation  did  no  little  to  allay  sectional 
feeling  which  unfortunately  had  already  tinged  with  bitterness  the  relations 
of  the  Island  and  Mainland  portions  of  the  Province. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  further  the  ramifications  of  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  two  Governments.  Let  it  suffice  that  after  much  correspondence, 
and  statements  and  counter-statements,  in  1878,  the  problem  was  scarcely 
nearer  solution  than  it  had  been  in  1874,  when  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon  ac- 
cepted the  responsibility  of  arbitrating  in  the  matter.  In  1878,  a  general 
election  took  place  and  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie's  Government  was  hope- 
lessly defeated  at  the  polls. 

Sir  John  Macdonald  evinced  a  strong  desire  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of 
British  Columbia  with  regard  to  railway  construction.  With  an  insight 
eminently  characteristic  of  the  man,  he  recognized  that  not  only  was  it  neces- 
sary to  build  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  order  to  keep  faith  with  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  245 

western  Province,  but  that  this  Hne  was  also  greatly  needed  to  open  up  for 
settlement  the  vast  extent  of  agricultural  lands  in  Manitoba  and  the  North- 
west Territories.  The  settlement  of  these  lands  would  ensure  a  large  grow- 
ing market  to  the  eastern  manufacturers,  who,  since  the  repeal  of  the 
Reciprocity  Treaty  with  the  United  States,  had  been  obliged  to  seek  new 
fields  for  the  disposal  of  their  wares. 

Surveys  and  Construction. 

In  the  meantime,  Sir  Sandford  Fleming,  with  an  able  staff  of  assistant 
engineers,  had  been  diligently  prosecuting  exploratory  surveys  along  the  dif- 
ferent routes  which,  from  time  to  time,  had  been  advocated  for  the  line. 
In  1879,  it  was  at  last  definitely  decided  that  the  route  of  the  Pacific  Railway 
through  British  G>lumbia  should  terminate  at  a  point  on  or  near  Burrard  In- 
let. In  January,  1880,  British  Columbia  was  requested  by  the  Imperial  au- 
thorities to  convey,  without  unnecessary  delay  to  the  Dominion  Government 
the  lands  for  twenty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  railway  Hne,  in  accordance 
with  the  eleventh  section  of  the  Terms  of  Union.  Towards  the  end  of  De- 
cember, 1880,  the  Honorable  Mr.  Walkem  left  for  Ottawa  in  order  to  make 
final  arrangements  with  regard  to  the  commencement  of  construction  in  the 
Province,  and  to  press  upon  the  Government  the  loss  and  injury  which  would 
be  inflicted  upon  the  Southern  portion  of  British  Columbia  by  further  de- 
laying the  construction  of  the  Esquimalt-Nanaimo  section.  Mr.  Walkem 
pointed  out  that  the  Dominion  Government  had  offered  in  1874  to  construct 
the  work  as  a  "  portion  of  the  railway  "  and  furthermore  that  a  solemn  en- 
gagement had  been  entered  into  with  England  and  the  Province  in  1875 
to  commence  it  "  as  soon  as  possible  "  and  complete  it  with  "  all  possible 
despatch."  In  reply  the  Prime  Minister  remarked  that  the  whole  subject 
had  been  carefully  considered  and  that  the  contracts  for  the  mainland  work 
had  been  let.  He  also  intimated  that  the  Government  were  of  the  opinion 
that  it  was  impossible  to  do  more  at  present.     It  thus  appeared  that  at  last 


246  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  controversy  with  regard  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  which  had 
been  carried  on  for  nearly  nine  years  with  great  bitterness  on  both  sides,  was 
in  a  fair  way  to  be  settled. 

Mr.  Onderdonk,  the  well  known  financier  of  San  Francisco,  secured 
the  contract  for  building  the  first  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  miles  of  line 
on  the  mainland,  from  Emory's  Bar  to  Savona.  The  contract  was  divided 
as  follows : 

Sub-section  A,  Emory's  Bar  to  Boston  Bar,  29  miles;  to  be 

completed    December    ist,    1883    $2,727,300.00 

Sub-section  B,  Boston  Bar  to  Lytton,  29^  miles;  to  be  com- 
pleted June  30th,    1884    2,573,640.00 

Sub-section  C,  Lytton  to  Junction  Flat,  29  miles;  to  be  com- 
pleted  December   31st,    1884. 2,056,950.00 

Sub-section  D,  Junction   Flat  to   Savona,  403^    miles,    to    be 

completed   June   30th,    1885 . 1,809,150.00 

$9,167,040.00 

The  Terms  of  Union  provided  that  the  railway  should  be  commenced^ 
simultaneously  from  each  end  within  two  years  of  the  ratification  of  the 
agreement.  So  far  as  the  Eastern  section  of  the  line  was  concerned,  it  was 
a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  select  a  suitable  route.  Neither  Ontario  nor 
the  prairies  westward  of  that  Province  contained  any  very  serious  obstacles 
from  an  engineering  standpoint.  It  was  only  when  the  huge  chain  of 
Rockies  was  reached  that  the  difficulties  really  commenced,  and  the  magni- 
tude of  the  work  involved  in  crossing  the  "  sea  of  mountains  "  to  the  Pacific 
became  fully  apparent.  At  first  sight  it  appeared  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  find  a  practicable  route  through  this  tremendous  barrier. 

The  engineers  and  explorers  who  were  dispatched  to  ascertain  the  most 
feasible  route  across  Canada  had  little  trouble  until  they  arrived  at  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Rockies.  From  this  time  on,  however,  a  divergence  of  opinion 
existed  as  to  the  most  likely  pass  through  the  mountains.  As  early  as  1793 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  then  Governor  of  the  Hudson's   Bay  Company, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  247 

had  discovered  the  Peace  River,  and  traced  it  to  its  source.  Time  and  space 
forbid  an  account  of  this  heroic  journey  across  a  country  that  was  then,  and 
is  now,  comparatively  an  unknown  land.  In  1828,  Sir  George  Simpson,  also 
a  Governor  of  the  Company  of  Adventurers  Trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  in 
a  remarkable  journey  explored  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Peace  River, 
and  finally  reached  the  Pacific  Coast.  To  these  illustrious  travelers  we  are 
indebted  for  our  first  knowledge  of  this  grand  river  and  the  country  through 
which  it  flows.  Still,  as  can  readily  be  imagined,  the  data  acquired  by  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie  and  Sir  George  Simpson  were  altogether  insufficient 
for  the  purpose  of  basing  a  decision  as  to  the  desirability  of  the  country  for 
settlement  and  railway  construction.  Eventually  three  passes  were  explored 
— the  Peace  River  Pass,  Yellowhead  Pass  and  Pine  River  Pass — with  the 
result  that  it  was  proved  in  many  ways  the  Yellowhead  was  the  most  prac- 
ticable opening  in  the  mountains  by  which  to  reach  British  Columbia.  To 
the  untoward  delays  that  occurred  in  deciding  upon  the  merits  of  the  various 
passes,  the  discontent  that  existed  in  British  Columbia  was  mainly  due.  Sir 
Sandford  Fleming  early  in  the  day  recognized  the  Yellowhead  Pass  as  an 
important  objective  point  aff^ording  an  easy  entrance  to  British  Columbia 
through  mountains  which  heretofore  had  been  pronounced  impenetrable. 
Although  he  had  come  to  this  conclusion  in  1872  he  did  not  deem  it  advis- 
able to  commence  construction  without  first  carefully  examining  the  passes 
to  the  northward.  In  addition  to  the  difficulty  of  selecting  a  pass  through 
the  mountains,  a  difficulty  almost  as  great  was  encountered  in  choosing  the 
western  terminal  point.  Opinion  differed  vastly  with  regard  to  the  harbor 
offering  the  best  facilities  as  a  terminus  for  a  trans-continental  line.  Wad- 
dington  Harbor,  on  Bute  Inlet,  Port  Simpson,  Port  Essington  and  Port 
Moody,  on  Burrard  Inlet,  all  had  their  supporters,  and  as  previously  men- 
tioned, the  residents  of  Vancouver  Island  claimed  that  Esquimalt  was  the 
most  convenient  place.  In  1887,  Mr.  Cambie  followed  the  Skeena  River 
from  its  mouth  to  the  country  drained  by  its  southern  branch,  the  Watson- 


248  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

quah.  The  examination  was  continued  until  Fort  George  was  reached.  In 
the  same  year  Mr.  Joseph  Hunter  crossed  the  mountains  by  the  Pine  River 
Pass.  These  explorations,  however,  only  tended  to  confirm  Sir  Sandford 
Fleming  in  the  opinion  that  the  Yellowhead  route  was  the  most  practicable. 

Mr.  Marcus  Smith  had  special  charge  of  the  surveys  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  during  the  four  years  which  he  spent  in  this  region  he  was  chiefly 
engaged  in  exploring  the  harbors  at  the  various  suggested  termini.  Every 
harbor  was  examined  and  with  the  assistance  of  admiralty  charts  and  from 
conversations  with  officers  of  the  Royal  Navy  and  officials  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  much  valuable  information  was  gained.  Mr.  Smith  stated 
in  a  report,  dated  March  29th,  1878,  that  there  was  no  harbor  on  the  Coast 
of  the  Mainland  of  British  Columbia,  with  the  exception  of  Port  Simpson, 
suitably  located  for  purposes  of  foreign  commerce.  He  added,  however, 
that  on  the  coast  of  Vancouver  Island  there  were  several  harbors  well  situated 
for  commerce  with  Asia.  Port  Simpson,  he  pointed  out,  is  easily  approached 
from  the  ocean  and  is  fully  500  miles  nearer  Yokohama  than  Holme's  harbor 
in  Puget  Sound.  But  he  added  that  this  harbor  is  remote  from  the  indus- 
trial centers  of  the  Province,  and  could  only  be  looked  upon  as  the  station 
to  which  the  railway  might  ultimately  proceed,  providing  the  competition 
for  the  trade  of  China  and  Japan  should  warrant  such  an  extension.  In  the 
light  of  current  events,  it  is  curious  that  so  little  importance  was  placed  upon 
the  value  of  Burrard  Inlet  as  a  great  harbor  for  commerce.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  one  harbor  of  the  coast  which  attracted  the  least  attention 
from  the  surveyors  and  explorers  should  have  become  the  chief  port  of  the 
western  coast  of  British  North  America. 

From  187 1  until  1878  exploratory  parties  were  sent  out  in  all  directions 
through  the  Province.  Some  nine  different  routes  were  explored  through 
a  country-  the  natural  barriers  of  which  would  have  discouraged  and  barred 
the  progress  of  any  but  the  most  determined  of  men.  When  the  history  of 
the  Province  shall  come  to  be  written  in  detail,  the  storv  of  the  adventures 


BRITISFI  COLUMBIA  249 

and  experiences  of  these  who  mapped  out  routes  for  our  national  highway 
will  not  be  its  least  interesting-  chapter. 

Sandford  Fleming  was  extremely  loath  to  recommend  that  the  line 
should  follow  any  particular  route  until  careful  examination  could  be  made 
of  the  whole  country.  As  he  pointed  out  on  more  than  one  occasion  it  was 
a  matter  of  the  very  gravest  importance  that  the  line  should  be  built  as 
economically  as  possible  and  through  a  country  which  it  would  be  possible 
to  settle.  In  his  report  of  1880,  he  remarked  that  irreparable  injury  might 
have  been  done  to  Canada  by  an  unseemly  haste  in  the  selection  of  a  route. 
If  the  railway  had  been  constructed  and  later  a  better  route  found,  the  loss 
to  the  Dominion  would  have  been  incalculable. 

After  passing  through  the  Rockies  there  still  remained  the  Cascade 
chain  to  pierce.  This  range  rises  between  the  central  plateau  on  the  one  side 
and  the  coast  on  the  other,  and  everywhere  presents  formidable  difificulties. 
Through  these  mountains  twelve  passes  were  discovered  and  surveyed,  eight 
of  which  were  found  practicable  for  railway  construction.  The  route  event- 
ually decided  upon  followed  the  Fraser  River  canon  to  the  Coast.  Gen- 
erally speaking  there  were  four  main  routes  suitable  for  the  construction  of 
the  railway.     They  were  as  follows: 

1.  Through  the  Peace  River  Pass  to  the  Northern  Coast  of  British 
Columbia  at  Port  Simpson. 

2.  Through  the  Yellowhead  Pass  to  Port  Essington. 

3.  Through  the  Yellowhead  Pass  to  Bute  Inlet. 

4.  Through  Yellowhead  Pass  via  Thompson  River  and  Fraser  River 
to  Burrard  Inlet. 

It  was  not  until  1878  that  the  Government  finally  decided  upon  the  last 
mentioned  route,  and  a  contract  was  signed  with  Mr.  Onderdonk  for  the 
first  portion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  the  following  year,  as  stated 
in  the  foregoing.  Yellowhead  Pass,  however,  was  subsequently  abandoned  for 
one  through  the  Bow  River  and  the  Kicking  Horse  Passes,  regarding  which 


260  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

it  may  be  said  that  there  ever  will  remain  a  dispute  as  to  the  wisdom  of  such 
a  course.  The  C.  P.  R.  certainly  obtained  a  route  which  for  scenic  beauty 
and  grandeur  is  unequalled  on  the  continent  of  America  and  probably  in 
the  world,  but  what  it  gained  in  that  respect  it  lost  in  grades,  the  advantage 
of  which  in  the  cost  of  hauling  traffic  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Sooner 
or  later,  and  probably  very  soon,  the  Yellowhead  Pass  will  be  utilized  by  one 
or  more  trans-continental  railways,  either  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  or  the 
Canadian  Northern,  or  both. 

In  the  year  1880  the  Government  of  Canada  was  successful  in  organ- 
izing a  syndicate,  which  under  certain  terms  undertook  to  construct  the 
railway  and  complete  it  by  the  first  of  May,  1891.  It  is  unnecessary  here 
to  refer  to  the  terms,  except  that  $25,000,000  in  cash  and  25,000,000  acres 
of  land  were  given  as  a  bonus,  with  certain  exemptions  and  privileges.  The 
great  work,  which  has  been  the  most  important  factor  in  Canadian  develop- 
ment, was  prosecuted  with  such  extraordinary  vigor  that  it  was  completed 
in  1885,  or  five  years  before  the  time  specified.  History  will  not  record 
anything  more  remarkable  so  far  as  the  Dominion  of  Canada  is  concerned 
than  the  manner  in  which  the  undertaking  was  carried  out.  Especially  in 
the  canons  and  mountain  fastnesses  was  it  marked  by  great  engineering 
feats  and  attended  by  perils  to  life.  There  was  an  army  of  men  employed. 
It  was  a  contest  between  the  ingenuity,  skill  and  daring  of  men  against  huge 
natural  obstacles  in  which  the  former  wtdu  a  notable  victory.  It  is  the  con- 
stant wonder  of  travelers  as  they  view  the  mountainous  environments  and 
the  engineering  accomplishments  how  it  was  all  done.  Not  less  even  were 
the  mechanical  difficulties  than  the  financial  ability  necessary  to  carry  the 
work  through  to  completion.  There  was  a  time  when  the  fate  of  the  enter- 
prise and  that  of  Canada  hung  in  the  balance.  The  promoters,  who,  though 
they  ultimately  reaped  a  harvest  from  its  construction,  backed  it  to  the  ut- 
most of  their  credit  and  resources,  and  might  even  then  have  failed  had  not  the 
Government,  whose  credit  and  that  of  the  country  were  at  stake  as  well, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  251 

come  to  their  rescue  with  a  temporary  loan,  which,  by  the  way,  was  all  repaid 
in  due  time. 

The  completion  of  this  gigantic  undertaking  was  the  practical  fulfill- 
ment of  the  Terms  of  Union.  There  was,  however,  another  part  of  these 
which  was  fulfilled  about  the  same  time.  The  Carnarvon  terms  provided 
that  a  line  of  railway  should  be  built  on  the  Island  of  Vancouver,  and  the 
failure  of  the  Dominion  Government  to  carry  out  its  agreement  was  a  stand- 
ing and  a  substantial  grievance.  Mr.  Higgins  has  in  a  previous  chapter 
given  a  great  many  details  of  the  settlement.  In  1883  the  terms  of  what  is 
known  as  the  Settlement  Act  were  arranged,  by  which  all  the  outstanding 
issues  between  the  Province  and  the  Dominion  were  disposed  of.  By  this 
act  a  subsidy  of  $750,000  was  pledged  by  the  Dominion  Government  for  the 
construction  of  the  island  railway,  which,  with  a  liberal  grant  of  land  from 
the  Provincial  Government,  secured  the  construction  and  completion  of  the 
Esquimalt  and  Nanaimo  Railway.  By  the  act  in  question  the  dry  dock  at 
Esquimalt,  construction  of  which  had  been  begun  under  the  Walkem-Beaven, 
administration,  provided  that  upon  its  completion  the  Government  of  Canada 
should  take  it  over  and  operate  it  as  a  Dominion  work;  that  the  Dominion 
Government  should  be  entitled  to  have  conveyed  to  it  all  lands  belonging 
thereto,  together  with  the  Imperial  appropriation,  and  pay  to  the  Province  as 
the  price  thereof  $250,000  in  addition  to  the  amounts  that  had  been  expended 
or  remained  due  up  to  the  passing  of  the  act.  The  province,  as  an  equiva- 
lent for  the  $750,000  bonus  in  cash  to  the  E.  &  N.  Railway  Company,  agreed 
to  convey  to  the  Dominion  Government  3,500,000  acres  in  the  Peace  River 
district,  the  whole  area  to  be  selected  in  one  rectangular  block.  The  enter- 
ing into  confederation  in  1870  was  merely  formal,  the  reality  came  about 
and  the  Province  was  satisfied  only  when  it  was  assured  beyond  all  doubt 
that  the  railway  for  which  it  bargained  with  the  Dominion  would  be  com- 
pleted. As  stated  in  the  chapter  on  Confederation  there  was  very  little  senti- 
ment  involved.     Now,    however,    the   commercial    spirit   that   propelled    the 


252  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

movement  from  its  inception  until  its  consummation  has  been  largely  elimin- 
ated, and  the  people  of  British  Columbia,  in  common  with  the  people  of  the 
rest  of  Canada,  share  in  that  feeling  of  brotherhood  that  should  actuate  the 
whole  of  the  citizens  of  one  nation. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  253 


.      •  CHAPTER  XL 

GOVERNORS    AND    LIEUTENANT    GOVERNORS    OF    BRITISH 

COLUMBIA. 

The  official  lives  of  the  Governors  and  Lieutenant  Governors  of  British 
Columbia  embody  the  political  history  of  fifty  years,  and  incidentally  em- 
brace much  else  of  interest.  In  colonial  days  the  Governor  was  a  factor  in 
politics,  representing  Imperial  interests  and  in  a  large  measure  Imperial 
politics.  His  personal  influence,  too,  counted  for  much  more  than  it  has 
in  the  case  of  latter  day  Governors,  because  he  had  greater  power  to  enforce 
his  views  on  his  Executive  Council,  of  which  he  was  one  de  facto,  as  well  as 
in  name.  Before  the  days  of  responsible  government  in  British  Columbia, 
at  it  was  in  the  old  Canadas,  the  Legislative  Assembly  was  rather  an  ad- 
visory than  a  governing  body,  and  as  the  real  head  of  the  Executive,  the 
Governor  possessed  an  authority  which  to  assert  today  would  be  dangerous. 

Responsible  government  brought  with  it  to  the  Dominion  and  to  the 
Province  the  complete  recognition  of  the  right  of  the  people,  through  their 
representatives  elect,  to  govern.  Parliament  is  supreme,  and  the  Government 
or  Executive,  while  by  an  unwritten  code  of  proxy  is  entrusted,  as  the  best 
modern  solution  of  practical  Government,  with  a  large  measure  of  discretion- 
ary powers,  its  will  is,  nevertheless,  in  the  final  analysis,  but  the  registered 
index  of  the  popular  will,  and  the  Governor  or  Lieutenant  Governor  simply 
affixes  his  seal  to  the  fiat  of  the  court  of  public  opinion. 

The  one  was  the  direct  representative  of  the  Imperial  Government,  with 
a  large  measure  of  control  and  influence,  and  the  other,  under  responsible 
government,    is    an    indirect    representative,    whose   authority,    except   under 


264  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

extraordinary  circumstances,  is  derived  solely  from  the  people  over  whom 
he  is  nominally  set  to  govern. 

In  the  one  case,  in  dealing  with  the  Governors,  we  are  dealing  with  part 
of  the  policy  which  directed  public  affairs,  in  the  other  we  have  a  series  of 
pegs  which  may  or  may  not  be  convenient  upon  which  to  hang  current  his- 
tory. 

When  the  colonial  Governors  assumed  office  they  were  waited  upon 
by  delegations  and  memorialized  on  public  matters  and  were  authoritative  and 
sometimes  mandatory  in  their  replies. 

Now  representations  are  sometimes  made  to  the  Governor,  but  not 
strictly  in  matters  of  State,  or  if  by  courtesy  this  is  done,  they  are  referred 
to  the  Executive.  His  influence  is  often  sought,  but,  if  exerted,  is  done  so 
unofficially,  and  need  not  necessarily  be  respected.  The  Home  Govern- 
ment may  seek  advice  from  the  Governor  of  Canada  independently  respect- 
ing matters  of  Imperial  interest,  but  as  a  rule  he  is  simply  the  medium  of 
communication  between  the  tw^o  Governments.  The  same  thing  may  occur 
in  regard  to  Dominion  and  provincial  affairs,  but  a  similar  rule  applies. 

Richard  Blanshard. 

It  is  usual  to  regard  Sir  James  Douglas  as  the  first  Governor  of  British 
Columbia,  but,  although  he  was  virtually  the  first,  nominally  he  was  not. 
The  consideration  of  Blanshard's  place  in  our  history  carries  us  back  to  the 
time  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company  rule,  when  that  corporation  exercised  sov- 
ereign control  not  only  over  Vancouver  Island  but  over  a  vast  tract  of  terri- 
tory known  as  Rupert's  Land,  as  well  as  exclusive  trading  rights  over  an- 
other vast  area  known  as  the  Indian  Territory.  It  may  be  said  of  Blanshard, 
as  has  been  said  of  many  another  good  man  in  a  somewhat  different  sense, 
that  he  was  before  his  time.  Space  will  not  permit  of  my  going  into  a  con- 
sideration of  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  his  appointment  and  the 
tenure  of  his  office  as  Governor.     Bancroft  and  other  writers  on  the  Hud- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  255 

soli  s  Bay  Company  period  have  dealt  with  these,  nor  indeed,  does  the  im- 
portance of  his  gubernatorial  career  justify  elaborate  treatment.  He  was 
appointed  simply  to  satisfy  the  conditions  of  the  time.  Sir  James  Douglas 
would  have  been  the  man  had  it  not  been  felt  that  (where  the  interests  of  the 
company  and  the  colonist  as  such  might  at  times  come  into  conflict)  one  in- 
dependent of  the  company  altogether  would  be  desirable.  Moreover,  an 
independent  appointee  gave  at  least  a  semblance  of  Imperial  above  company 
control.  Under  other  circumstances,  the  precaution  would  have  been  a  very 
wise  one,  but  there  were  practically  none  other  than  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
employes  to  govern,  and  thev  owed  no  allegiance  to  any  power  other  than 
the  chief  factor,  who  had  neither  inclination  nor  intention  to  acknowledge 
any  governor  other  than  the  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  A 
memorial  presented  to  Governor  Blanshard.  which  set  out,  among  other 
things,  the  names  of  all  the  persons  in  the  colony  not  connected  directly  with 
the  Company,  had  fifteen  signatures  to  it.  and  Blanshard  himself  solemnly 
asserts  that  there  were  not  more  than  thirty  persons  of  all  sorts  and  condi- 
tions, that  is,  w^hite  persons,  outside  of  the  company's  employ. 

From  what  we  know  of  Blanshard,  he  was  a  man  of  good  parts,  and 
under  other  circumstances  would  probably  have  succeeded  in  as  great  a  de- 
gree as  he  failed  at  that  time.  In  England  the  post  of  Governor  of  a  Colony 
is  regarded  as  one  of  honor  and  emolument,  and  we  can  in  some  measure 
judge  of  his  disappointment  when  he  landed  in  Victoria  and  fully  realized 
for  the  first  time  the  conditions  then  existing  in  this  country.  He  found 
governing  a  hollow  mockery.  Upon  his  own  testimony  we  learn  that  his 
only  duties  consisted  in  settling  disputes  between  members  of  the  company, 
or  such  as  would  form  part  of  the  work  of  an  ordinary  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  we  cannot  wonder  at  and  can  readily  forgive  the  irritation  he  displayed 
and  the  pessimism  of  his  letters  and  reports  home.  Without  a  population 
to  govern,  with  scant  recognition  of  his  office,  without  official  residence  or 
a  stipend  and  without  even  the  undisputed  sway  of  Alexander  Selkirk  over 


256  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  fowl  and  the  brute,  he  nevertheless,  as  he  wandered  forlornly  over  his 
domain,  could  doubtless  echo  to  the  faintest  whisper  the  sentiment  of  that 
other  monarch  when  he  exclaimed : 

"O  Solitude,  where  are  the  charms 

That  sages  have  seen  in  thy  face? 
Better  dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms 

Than  reign  in  this  horrible  place." 

Coming  out  to  Vancouver  Island  in  January,  1850,  he  left  again  in 
185 1,  his  governorship  extending  over  a  term  of  about  two  years,  and  we 
hear  of  him  again  giving  evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons  in  1857,  appointed  to  enquire  into  the  title  and  the  conditions 
of  occupancy  of  land  held  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  an  opportunity 
that  no  doubt  afforded  him  much  satisfaction  for  the  treatment  he  had  re- 
ceived, treatment  that  cannot  be  described  as  other  than  shabby  and  un- 
deserved. He  was  succeeded  by  James  Douglas,  then  chief  factor  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Taking  all  things  into  con- 
sideration, Douglas  was  the  only  man  at  that  time  with  any  claim  to  the 
position  who  could  have  satisfactorily  filled  it.  As  already  intimated  prac- 
tically the  only  interests  to  be  considered  were  those  under  his  own  care,  and 
from  his  official  standing  in  the  company,  he  had  almost  perfect  control  of 
the  population,  as  every  person  in  the  colony  was  directly  or  indirectly  de- 
pendent on  the  company.  He  knew  the  whole  country  intimately,  had  the 
confidence  and  respect  and  a  familiar  knowledge  of  the  Indians,  and  above 
all  was  a  man  born  to  rule. 

Sir  James  Douglas. 

I  have  referred  to  him  elsewhere  as  "  remarkable,"  and  when  the  his- 
torian of  the  future  comes  to  write  dispassionately  on  British  Columbia  in  a 
light  uncolored  by  the  atmosphere  of  the  day  and  generation  in  which  Sir 
James  lived,  that  estimate  of  him  will  be  fully  sustained.  To  my  mind  the 
most  remarkable  feature  of  his  career  is  the  development  of  a  character  and 


(I  !^  I  V  .  0  I 

{■  I:  I    11  rO  I;  iv   I/. 


■'  0   ,  V  1  !',  [I 

r.  (I  (» •■(  1 .1  h  (> 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  257 

a  personality  unique  in  its  fullness  and  moral  strength.  It  was  a  character 
that  grew  up  in  and  out  of  a  western  soil  almost  barbaric  in  the  rudeness 
and  primitiveness  of  its  product,  and  yet  so  diverse  in  many  respects  that 
had  it  not  been  for  its  ruggedness  and  strength  might  be  termed  exotic.  As 
a  boy  of  sixteen  out  of  school  launched  on  a  sea  of  Far  West  adventure, 
entirely  removed  from  the  social  influences  and  culture  comforts  of  his  home 
in  Scotland,  associating  for  years  with  the  uncivilized  Indian  tribes  of  the 
country,  and  moulded  by  the  stern  experience  of  an  isolated  life  on  prairie, 
in  forest  and  on  mountain;  out  of  touch  with  the  civilizing  forces  of  the 
wonderful  century  in  which  he  began  life;  engaged  in  an  occupation  that 
begat  no  ambitions  or  aspirations  of  a  future  that  such  a  man  in  other  walks 
of  life  might  reasonably  entertain — with  such  environments  it  is  remarkable, 
I  contend,  that  he  should  not  only  retain  the  accomplishments  of  his  youth 
throughout  life,  but  increase  and  perfect  them ;  acquire  a  knowledge  of  many 
subjects  of  an  academic  nature,  and  particularly  of  the  principles  of  political 
economy  and  statescraft ;  develop  a  strong  literary  style  of  composition  and 
familiarize  himself  with  formalities  of  government  and  parliamentary  pro- 
cedure; nurture  the  moral  and  religious  instincts  of  his  youth;  observe  a  be- 
coming temperance  and  abstemiousness ;  cultivate  a  striking  dignity  of  per- 
son; and  in  the  midst  of  his  busy  life,  full  of  practical  and  unromantic  de- 
tails, keep  abreast  of  the  thought  of  his  day,  and  that  when  he  was  called 
upon  to  fill  the  responsible  and  dignified  position  of  Governor  of  one  of 
Her  Majest}^'s  colonies,  without  any  previous  experience  or  training  for 
such  a  post,  he  should  do  so  with  the  utmost  ability  and  acceptability.  It 
is  true  that  in  many  of  the  qualifications  possessed  by  James  Douglas — edu- 
cation, intelligence,  tact,  force  of  character,  physical  prowess,  bravery,  re- 
sourcefulness, systematic  habits,  dignity,  moral  rectitude — the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  service  was  a  splendid  training  school,  and  it  is  only  fair  to 
say  that  our  hero  was  but  one,  though  a  conspicuous  member,  of  a  long  list 
of  pioneers  in  the  nobility  of  the  fur  trade  to  whom  history  can  never  do  too 


258  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

much  honor.  In  this  respect,  however,  Douglas  was  particularly  notable, 
that  while  he  evinced  many  if  not  all  of  the  better  qualities  of  men  of  his 
class,  he  was  singularly  free  from  the  moral  defects  and  excesses,  not  un- 
natural in  a  rough  and  ready  school  of  ethics  through  which  all  alike  gradu- 
ated, that  distinguished  some  of  them.  In  his  day,  Sir  James  was  undoubt- 
edly remarkable  among  many  remarkable  men,  and  it  is  not  unnatural  to 
conclude  that  under  other  conditions  of  life,  and  with  a  wider  opportunity, 
would  have  equally  distinguished  himself  as  a  man  of  affairs  and  as  a  leader 
of  men.  We  can,  therefore,  honor  him  not  only  for  what  he  was  in  life, 
but  for  what  he  might  have  been. 

James  Douglas  was  born  in  1803,  in  Lanarkshire,  Scotland,  and  went  to 
school  there  and  in  Chester,  receiving  a  good  education.  His  knowledge  of 
French  was  acquired  (not  in  the  Northwest,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Bryce),  but 
from  an  old  French  count,  who  counselled  him  upon  leaving  for  America  to 
keep  it  up  as  it  would  always  be  useful  to  him.  So  well  was  the  advice  fol- 
lowed that  when  Sir  James  visited  France  on  his  journey  through  Europe 
many  years  afterwards,  he  was  complimented  upon  his  excellent  and  courtly 
use  of  the  l&ngiiage.  He  was  a  student  until  the  day  of  his  death,  and  his 
reading  embraced  a  very  wide  range  of  subjects. 

Upon  the  formation  of  the  two  colonies  under  Imperial  control  in  1859, 
having  severed  his  connection  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  he  became 
governor  of  both,  retiring  in  1864  with  the  honor  of  knighthood.  He  died 
in  1877,  after  the  problem  of  confederation  and  in  a  large  measure  that  of 
railway  connection,  had  been  solved,  thus  living  to  behold  in  his  own  life- 
time,, the  consummation  of  what  as  a  pioneer  and  founder  of  a  province  he 
had  been  a  factor  in  achieving.  Whatever  differences  in  opinion  there  may 
have  been  among  his  contemporaries  as  to  his  policy  as  a  governor  or  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  varying  estimates  of  his  character  as  a  man  among 
men  with  whom  he  had  personal  relations — every  strong  man  has  his 
enemies  and  in  all  politics  there  is  strife — that  today  he  is  by  general  con- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  259 

sensus  of  opinion  regarded  as  the  man  representative  of  his  times,  the  one 
about  whose  individuahty  must  cluster  as  a  nucleus  the  materials  for  the 
history  of  the  early  life  of  British  Columbia,  is  the  strongest  possible  testi- 
mony to  the  part  he  played  as  a  pioneer  and  statesman. 

After  Douglas  came  three  Governors,  about  whom  the  present  genera- 
tion know  but  little,  for  while  they  were  within  the  memory  of  many  of  the 
older  inhabitants,  as  governors  there  was  nothing  special  connected  with 
their  administrations  to  make  their  tenure  of  office  memorable.  During 
Sir  James  Douglas's  regime  British  Columbia  was  in  a  purely  formative 
stage.  Permanency  depended  upon  future  developments.  Regarding  these, 
hopes  had  always  been  high,  and  prospects,  though  bright,  were  indefinite, 
and  based  on  a  sanguineness  characteristic  of  a  strong,  hardy,  brave,  in- 
telligent and  adventurous  class  of  people,  who,  loving  the  freedom  of  West- 
ern life,  had  an  instinctive  faith  in  the  country — a  faith  that  has  remained 
steadfast  with  them  and  us,  and  which  is  now  finding  its  justification  in 
many  ways.  All  things  come  to  those  who  know  how  to  wait,  is  the  true 
rendering  of  the  old  proverb,  and  waiting  is  being  amply  rewarded. 

Kennedy  and  Seymour. 

When  Arthur  Edward  Kennedy  and  Frederick  Seymour  succeeded 
Douglas  in  the  colonies  of  Vancouver  Island  and  (the  mainland  of)  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  respectively,  the  country  was  settling  down  to  an  organized 
state  of  afifairs.  There  were  separate  political  institutions  in  the  Colonies, 
separate  seats  of  Government,  and  a  distinct  separateness  of  feeling,  which 
later  crystallized  into  a  sectionalism  that  had  its  influence  for  many  a  day 
afterwards,  and  is  not  yet  wholly  eliminated.  After,  however,  the  early 
mining  excitements  had  subsided  and  Cariboo  had  been  exploited,  there  was 
a  period  of  long  rest,  during  which  development  was  slow  and  little  change 
was  experienced  in  the  outward  appearance  of  things.  Political  events  were 
shaped  largely  upon  the  main  issue  of  the  union  of  the  colonies,  which  was 


260  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

favored  on  the  Island,  and  opposed  on  the  Mainland.  Governor  Seymour, 
who  had  a  fine  residence  in  New  Westminster,  fought  against  the  removal 
of  the  capital  to  Victoria,  and  even  after  that  had  been  decided  upon,  de- 
layed the  inevitable  as  long  as  possible  in  the  hope  that  the  Imperial  authori- 
ties might  .be  influenced  to  change  their  views.  The  union,  after  a  hard 
stniggle,  was  effected  in  1866,  when  Governor  Kennedy  retired  and  Gov- 
ernor Seymour  succeeded  as  Governor  of  all  British  Columbia.  The  first 
session  after  union  was  held  in  Victoria  in  1867.  One  of  the  strong  levers 
in  bringing  about  union  was  the  expense  of  the  civil  list,  which  high  even 
for  the  united  colonies,  was  burdensome  when  maintained  separately  in 
colonies  with  limited  population  and  undeveloped  resources.  The  salary  of 
the  governors  alone  was  $15,000  a  year  each,  and  although  the  salary  of 
Seymour  was  increased  to  $20,000  after  the  union,  the  saving  was  consid- 
erable, and  in  a  similar  way  the  expenditure  for  civil  service  was  correspond- 
ingly reduced  all  round. 

I  am  indebted  to-  the  Hon.  D.  W.  Fliggins,  ex-Speaker,  for  impressions 
of  the  early  governors.  Governor  Kennedy  arrived  in  Victoria  on  Good 
Friday,  1864,  and  was  received  with  open  arms  and  salvos  of  artillery.  He 
had  been  a  captain  in  the  regular  army  and  had  seen  service  in  India.  Re- 
tired on  captain's  half  pay,  he  had  mixed  in  Imperial  politics,  and  was  a 
fluent  and  graceful  speaker.  Handsome  in  appearance,  gray,  decidedly 
military  in  his  bearing,  very  suave,  amiable,  and  clever,  he  was  a  striking 
figure  and  a  man  of  character  as  well.  While  addressing  a  deputation  of 
citizens  from  the  steps  of  the  Government  buildings  on  one  occasion  he  used 
the  memorable  expression  that  it  was  better  to  be  decidedly  wrong  than  un- 
decidedly right,  a  note  that  was  attuned  to  his  own  policy.  Governor  Ken- 
nedy took  a  strong  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony  and  personally  investi- 
gated the  resources  of  the  Island  as  far  as  was  possible  with  a  view  to  its 
betterment.  The  agitation  for  union  of  the  colonies  began  early  in  his 
reign,  and  his  influence  was  a  strong  factor  in  bringing  it  about.     He  had 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  261 

two  daughters,  one  of  whom  married  Lord  Gilford,  afterwards  Governor 
of  Queensland. 

Governor  Seymour  was  a  man  of  different  stamp,  smaller  in  physique 
and  of  nervous,  active  temperament.  He  was  quite  bald.  He  had  been 
governor  of  British  Honduras,  where  he  had  made  a  good  record  for  him- 
self, but  where  his  experience  probably  influenced  his  views  of  Colonial 
policy,  and  to  some  extent  his  disposition.  His  advent  to  office  as  Governor 
of  the  united  colonies  was  coincident  with  the  completion  of  the  Atlantic 
cable,  which  brought  his  instructions  respecting  union,  and  which  as  has  been 
seen  he  delayed  as  long  as  possible  before  carrying  into  effect.  Seymour 
continued  in  office  until  June,  1869,  in  which  year  his  death  occurred.  He 
died  on  board  Her  Majesty's  ship  Sparrowhawk  at  Bella  Coola,  whither  he 
had  gone  on  a  trip  for  his  health.  After  coming  to  British  Columbia  he  re- 
turned to  England  and  married  there. 

The  principal  feature  of  his  Governorship  was  the  movement  for  union 
with  Canada,  which  began  almost  immediately  as  soon  as  the  lesser  union 
had  been  effected.  Seymour  used  all  the  influence  in  his  power  in  its  favor, 
and  as  the  policy  of  the  Home  Government  in  this  matter  was  well  known, 
he  undoubtedly  acted  under  instructions. 

Sir  Anthony  Musgrave. 

Sir  Anthony  Musgrave  succeeded,  and  by  this  time  Confederation  was 
the  one  absorbing  issue.  Curiously  enough,  in  contrast  with  the  attitude 
on  the  union  of  the  colonies,  Confederation  was  strongly  supported  on  the 
Mainland,  while  the  principal  opposition  came  from  the  Island,  although 
there  was  a  strong  party  in  Victoria  in  its  favor.  There  was  also  an  in- 
significant element  advocating  annexation  with  the  United  States.  Mus- 
grave's  instructions  were  explicit  on  the  subject,  and  his  mission  as  Governor 
had  principally  that  end  in  view.  His  efforts,  backed  up  by  Imperial  in- 
fluence, strong  even  to  the  point  of  command,  brought  the  issue  to  a  head 


262  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

sooner  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been,  and  in  the  end  sentiment  wa& 
unanimous  in  its  favor. 

The  year  1871  saw  Confederation  an  accomplished  fact,  and  with  it 
came  responsible  government.  Musgrave's  services  upon  his  retirement  were 
recognized  by  knighthood.  ,  He  is  described  as  a  tall,  slim,  handsome  man, 
of  excellent  parts  and  intellectual  attainments.  In  the  West  Indies,  where 
he  had  written  himself  into  the  notice  and  favor  of  the  Governor  of  St.  Vin- 
cent, he  had  been  a  journalist,  and  with  favor  came  well  deserved  prefer- 
ment. During  his  residence  in  British  Columbia  he  had  the  misfortune, 
while  riding,  to  break  his  leg.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Dodgson,  still  lives  in  Vic- 
toria, and  another  sister  married  Mr,  John  Trutch,  an  engineer,  formerly 
Land  Commissioner  of  the  E.  &  N.  Railway,  well  known  to  all  old  Victo- 
rians. 

Sir  Joseph  Trutch. 

After  Confederation,  as  was  proper,  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor fell  to  the  lot  of  a  British  Columbian,  who  had  been  long 
and  prominently  identified  with  its  affairs  as  a  member  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  and  as  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works  and  Surveyor- 
General — Sir  Joseph  W.  Trutch.  He  had  been  one  of  the  three  delegates 
who  went  to  Ottawa  to  arrange  the  terms  of  Confederation,  and  after  the 
successful  completion  of  his  mission  returned  to  Victoria  with  his  commission 
as  governor  in  his  pocket,  and  was  appointed  in  July,  187 1.  During  his 
term  of  office,  responsible  government  and  the  initiation  of  the  work  of  sur- 
veying the  C.  P.  R.  line  of  railway  came  about.  Sir  Joseph  acquired  con- 
siderable wealth,  and  subsequent  to  his  retirement  from  office  he  went  to  Eng- 
land to  live,  but  although  he  had  his  residence  mainly  there,  he  continued 
to  have  large  interests  in  the  Province,  being  one  of  the  heavy  shareholders 
in  the  Hall  mines  and  smelter  at  Nelson,  B.  C.  He  died  very  recently.  Sir 
Joseph  Trutch  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability;  but,  although 
estimable  in  every  respect,  had  personal  qualities  which  did  not  render  him 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  263 

popular.  He  was  careful  in  business  matters,  exact  in  the  fulfillment  of  his 
official  duties,  and  was  at  all  times  concerned  that  the  dignity  of  his  person 
or  office  should  not  suffer.  When  he  retired,  in  1876,  he  did  so  retaining 
the  respect  of  the  citizens  generally. 

Sir  Joseph  was  the  son  of  an  English  solicitor,  who  was  afterwards 
Clerk  of  the  Peace  in  St.  Thomas,  Jamaica,  where  he  married  the  daughter 
of  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  where  Sir  Joseph  was  born.  The  latter 
was  educated  at  Exeter,  England,  and  was  trained  -as  a  civil  engineer.  In 
1849  he  came  out  to  the  Pacific  Coast  and  practiced  engineering  in  California 
and  Oregon,  and  was  thus  a  pioneer  of  pioneers  in  mining  life  on  this  coast. 
Afterwards  he  was  assistant  engineer  on  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  and 
on  the  Illinois  River  improvement  works.  In  1855  he  married  a  daughter 
of  Mr.  Louis  Hyde,  of  New  York.  In  1859  he  came  to  Victoria,  and  up 
until  1864  was  employed  on  the  construction  of  public  works  in  British  Co- 
lumbia, notably  on  the  section  through  the  cafion  of  the  Eraser  River  and 
the  wagon  road  from  Yale  to  Cariboo,  including  the  suspension  bridge  over 
the  Eraser  River,  built  by  him  under  the  terms  of  a  toll  charter.  He  suc- 
ceeded Lieutenant-Colonel  Moody,  R.  E.,  as  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands 
and  Works  and  Surveyor-General  of  the  Province  in  1866. 

Hon.  a.  N.  Richards. 

The  Hon.  Albert  Norton  Richards,  Q.  C,  who  succeeded  Sir  Joseph 
Trutch,  was  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  the  old  Canadas  before 
coming  to  this  province,  having  sat  for  South  Leeds  in  the  Canadian  Assem- 
bly of  Canada  from  the  general  elections  of  1863  until  January,  1864,  and 
for  the  same  constituency  for  the  House  of  Commons  from  the  general  elec- 
tion of  1872  to  the  dissolution  in  1874.  Eor  a  brief  period  in  1863-64  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  Canada  and  Solicitor-General  of 
Upper  Canada.  He  was  a  brother  of  the  late  Chief  Justice  of  Canada.  When 
Hon.  William  McDougall,  C.  B.,  made  his  memorable  trip  to  the  Northwest 


264  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

in  1869  to  be  Governor  of  Manitoba,  Mr.  Richards  accompanied  him  as 
Attorney-General  in  the  provisional  government  about  to  be  established  in 
that  province. 

As  is  well  known,  owing  to  the  rebellion  headed  by  Louis  Riel,  the  pro- 
posed arrangements  fell  through.  He  was  afterwards  for  several  years  legal 
agent  of  the  Dominion  Government  in  British  Columbia.  It  was  during  his 
term  of  office  here  in  Government  House,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  that 
of  his  predecessor,  as  well  as  during  the  early  part  of  that  of  his  successor  in 
office,  that  the  most  notable  agitation  in  the  history  of  British  Columbia  took 
place.  I  refer  to  the  trouble  over  the  non-fulfillment  of  the  terms  of  Con- 
federation with  reference  tO'  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 
It  is  a  long  chapter,  with  many  incidents,  including  the  change  of  the  terminus 
from  Esquimau  to  Port  Moody,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Walkem's  mission  to  England, 
and  Carnarvon  Terms,  mass  meetings  and  memorials,  the  secession  cry,  Lord 
Duflferin's  celebrated  peace  mission  in  connection  herewith,  the  demand  for 
an  Island  railway,  the  Settlement  Act,  and  many  others,  which  all  finally 
culminated  in  a  full  and  satisfactory  adjustment  of  provincial  grievances  and 
a  new  era  of  development  of  which  we  have  already  reaped  the  first  fruits. 

Governor  Richards  was  a  man  of  character,  intellectual  ability,  highly 
developed  legal  attainments  and  rugged  honesty.  He  was  plain  and  unas- 
suming, an  effective,  but  not  eloquent  pleader,  and  a  sturdy  old-time  Re- 
former, who  never  swerved  in  his  allegiance  to  Baldwin  liberalism.  Had  his 
party  been  in  power  at  an  earlier  period  prior  to  his  death,  his  services  and 
conspicuous  ability  would  doubtless  have  been  recognized.  Born  in  1822, 
twice  married,  made  a  Q.  C.  in  1863,  always  a  leader  at  the  bar,  and  a  promi- 
nent Provincial  Bencher,  he  died  within  recent  years.  Other  men  with  no 
greater  ability  perhaps  took  a  more  prominent  part  in  provincial  life  than  he 
did,  but  none  have  earned  a  higher  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  people  of 
British  Columbia  as  an  able  and  honorable  man. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  265 

Cornwall. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Cornwall  followed.  The  son  of  an  English  clergy- 
man, he  was  born  in  1839  at  Ashcroft,  Gloucestershire,  England;  was  educated 
in  and  graduated  from  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  as  B.  A.  in  1856;  called 
to  the  bar  in  1862;  came  to  British  Columbia  in  the  same  year;  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  here  in  1865 ;  was  elected  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  in  1864-65, 
and  was  a  member  of  that  body  at  the  time  the  terms  of  Confederation  were 
agreed  upon ;  was  made  a  senator  in  that  year  and  continued  to  sit  as  a  sup- 
porter of  Sir  John  Macdonald  until  his  appointment  as  Lieutenant-Governor 
in  1881;  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  County  Court  of  Cariboo  in  1889; 
married  in  1871  the  daughter  of  Rev.  A.  G.  Pemberton,  rector  of  Kensal 
Green,  London,  England.  His  term  of  office  expired  in  1886,  just  after  the 
C.  P.  R.  had  been  completed  to  the  coast  and  was  in  full  operation; 

Nelson. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Cornwall,  another  pioneer  of  the  province  came 
to  the  front  as  Lieutenant-Governor  in  the  person  of  the  Hon.  Hugh  Nelson, 
than  whom  as  a  pioneer  none  was  better  known  or  appreciated.     He  was  the 
son  of  a  linen  manufacturer,  Robert  Nelson,  of  Larne,  County  Antrim,  Ire- 
land, and  was  born  in  1830;  came  to  the  province  in  1858  by  way  of  Cali- 
fornia, whither  he  had  gone  in  1854.     He  settled  in  Yale  as  a  merchant  and 
was  also  interested  in  the  express  business  under  the  well  known  firm  name 
of  Dietz  &  Nelson,  running  an  express  line  from  Victoria  as  far  as  Yale. 
His  business  prospering,  he  engaged  in  many  other  enterprises,  notable  among 
which  was  his  successful  venture  as  a  partner  in  the  lumbering  firm  of  Moody, 
Dietz  &  Nelson,  Moody ville,  now  opposite  the  city  of  Vancouver,  where  a 
large  lumbering  business  was  carried  on  for  many  years.     As  might  be  ex- 
pected, he  early  took  an  interest  in  public  affairs.     He  was  a  member  of  the 
famous  Yale  Convention,   called  to   further  the  interests  of  Confederation, 
and   of  the  last  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  colony   of  British   Columbia. 


266  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Immediately  after  Confederation  he  was  elected  to  represent  New  West- 
minster district  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  continued  to  do  so  until  the 
year  1879,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  Senate.  He  retired  from  business 
altogether  in  1882,  and  was  married  in  1885  to  Emily,  daughter  of  J.  B. 
Stanton,  of  the  civil  service  of  Canada,  who  survived  him. 

Hon.  E.  Dewdney. 

Mr.  Nelson's  successor  was  the  Hon.  Edgar  Dewdney,  C.  E.,  another 
prominent  pioneer  of  the  province,  who  came  to  British  Columbia  in  1859. 
In  the  early  days  he  was  identified  with  various  mining  enterprises  in  Cariboo 
and  elsewhere,  and  built  the  well  known  Dewdney  Trail,  which  penetrates 
the  province  to  its  eastern  boundary.  He  first  sat  for  Kootenay  in  the  Leg- 
islative Assembly  of  British  Columbia  in  1868-69,  ^"^  ^^  the  House  of  Com- 
mons from  1872-79,  when  he  was  appointed  Indian  Commissioner;  and  again 
for  East  Assiniboia  from  September  12,  1888,  until  November,  1892.  He 
was  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  3rd  Decem- 
ber, 1 88 1,  until  3rd  July,  1888.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council, 
Minister  of  the  Interior  and  ex-officio  Superintendent-General  of  Indian 
Affairs,  3rd  August,  1888,  to  2nd  November,  1892,  when  he  became  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor. 

Hon.  T.  R.  McInnes. 

In  1896  the  defeat  of  the  Liberal-Conservative  administration  resulted 
in  the  appointment  of  a  Liberal  to  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor  in  the 
person  of  the  Hon.  T.  R.  McInnes,  M.  D.  This  was  followed  soon  after  by 
the  general  elections  in  the  province.  The  events  which  grew  out  of  the 
appointment  of  Senator  McInnes  to  office  really  form  a  sort  of  turning  point 
in  the  political  history  of  British  Columbia,  and  as  they  are  recent,  are  within 
the  memory  of  almost  every  person  in  the  province.  Political  development 
had  reached  the  point  where  there  was  a  parting  of  the  ways  between  new 
and  old  conditions.     Many  new-comers,  who  had  begun  to  take  a  prominent 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  267 

interest  in  public  affairs  had  created  an  atmosphere  wholly  different  from 
that  of  the  past.  That  element  was  assisted  and  materially  strengthened  by 
the  members  of  the  party  that  had  been  opposed  to  the  administration  of  the 
Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  and  several  other  administrations  of  which  his  was  the 
logical  successor.  There  was  also  the  feeling  of  the  Mainland  as  against 
the  Island  of  Vancouver,  which  had  long  protested  against  what  was  alleged 
to  be  the  undue  political  influence  and  ascendancy  of  the  Island  in  considera- 
tion of  its  limited  area  and  population,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  Main- 
land. It  is  not  possible  in  limited  space  to  go  fully  into  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  situation  at  that  time,  which  was  peculiarly  of  a  transitionary  char- 
acter. Mr.  Joseph  Martin,  only  recently  come  to  the  province  from  Mani- 
toba, where  he  had  been  a  prominent  figure  and  a  political  factor  of  more 
than  ordinary  force,  stepped  into  his  natural  position  of  the  leader  of  the 
new  and  disturbing  forces,  and  gave  expression  in  a  forcible  and  rather  ex- 
plosive way  to  their  views.  The  history  of  the  remarkable  episodes  which 
followed  is  given  impartially  here.  Briefly,  after  the  general  election  of 
1898  the  result  was  very  much  in  doubt,  with  Cassiar  to  hear  from.  In  the 
ordinary  way  the  Premier  of  the  day  would  have  been  permitted  to  meet 
the  Legislature  and  determine  his  strength  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Mclnnes  took  the  extraordinary  course  of  dismissing  the 
Turner  Ministry  on  the  grounds  that  it  had  ceased  to  possess  his  confidence. 
He,  however,  did  a  more  remarkable  thing  still,  in  calling  upon  Mr.  Robert 
Beaven,  who  was  not  in  the  Legislature,  and  had  been  a  defeated  candidate 
at  the  general  election,  to  form  a  government.  In  fact,  at  that  time  Mr. 
Beaven,  though  a  skilful  parliamentarian  and  a  man  of  long  political  experi- 
ence, had  no  political  status  so  far  as  an  existing  party  was  concerned,  and 
had  no  following.  He  was  not  even  allied  with  the  existing  recognized  op- 
position, of  which  Mr.  C.  A.  Semlin  was  the  acknowledged  leader.  Mr. 
Beaven  very  naturally  failed  to  get  a  ministry  together  and  then  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor turned  to  Mr.  Semlin.     The  latter  selected,  among  others, 


268  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Mr.  MArtin,  who  has  been  described  as  the  "  stormy  petrel  "  of  Canadian 
poh'tics,  as  his  Attorney-General,  and  Mr.  F.  C.  Cotton,  editor  of  the  News- 
Advertiser,  Vancouver,  as  his  Finance  Minister,  two  of  the  ablest  public  men 
of  the  province,  but  temperamentally  and  in  their  methods  very  unlike.     It 
was  not  long  before  they  were  at  cross  purposes  and  in  strong  antagonism  to 
each  other.     It  was  simply  a  question  of  time  as  to  which  of  the  two  should 
remain  in  the  cabinet  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  and  the  rashness  and 
open  indiscretion  of  the  Attorney-General  furnished  the  opportunity  for  Mr. 
Cotton  to  demand  his  resignation.     As  a  result  of  a  party  caucus,  Mr.  Martin 
stepped  out  and  went  into  active  and  effective  opposition  to  the  Government. 
With  a  small  majority  to  start  with,  the  Government,  at  the  following  meet- 
ing of  the  Legislature,  found  itself  practically  in  power  by  the  vote  of  the 
Speaker.     It  struggled  along  for  a  time,  but,  through  the  defection  of  Mr. 
Prentice,  who  afterwards  became  Finance  Minister  in  the  Dunsmuir  Govern- 
ment, Mr.  Semi  in  was  defeated  upon  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence,  by  which 
a  crisis  was  brought  about.     Subsequently,  however,  a  compromise  was  ef- 
fected by  the  Premier  with  some  members  of  the  opposition  for  their  sup- 
port, and  he  was  enabled  to  advise  his  Honor  that  he  could  command  the 
support  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  House.     Contrary  to  Consti- 
tutional precedent,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  refused  to  be  further  advised  by 
the  Semlin  Ministry,  whose  dismissal  followed  immediately.     A  second  time 
the  Governor  did  a  remarkable  thing.     He  called  in  Mr.  Martin,  who  stood 
absolutely  alone  in  the  House,  as  Premier.     Prorogation  under  unusual  and 
somewhat  boisterous  circumstances,  took  place,  and  the  Premier  proceeded  to 
form  his  ministry,  which  he  did  by  selecting  four  men  as  colleagues  who 
were  not  in  politics,  had  never  had  a  seat  in  the  Legislature,  and  were  prac- 
tically unknown  outside  of  their   respective  places   of  abode.     As   was   re- 
marked on  more  than  one  occasion,  the  procedure  followed  was  making  a 
travesty  of  constitutional  government.     As  soon  as  the  voter's  list  could  be 
made  in  readiness,  general  elections  were  held.     There  was  a  general  uncer- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  269 

tainty  as  to  the  political  lines  upon  which  many  of  the  members  returned,  but 
Mr.  Martin  could  not  count  more  than  seven  out  of  the  number.  His  Honor, 
having  acted  upon  his  own  responsibility  in  dismissing  the  Semlin  Govern- 
ment and  calling  into  existence  a  Government  to  succeed  it,  and  not  having 
been  sustained  by  the  country  in  the  course  pursued,  his  own  retirement  was 
inevitable.  In  other  words,  in  departing  from  well  understood  constitutional 
methods,  he  took  his  official  life  in  his  hand.  His  dismissal  came  almost 
immediately  from  Ottawa,  whereupon  he  became  once  more  plain  Dr.  Mc- 
Innes,  being  neither  Lieutenant-Governor  nor  Senator.  He  lived  in  retire- 
ment  afterwards  in  Vancouver,  and  died  four  years  later. 

Dr.  Mclnnes,  like  his  predecessors,  was  a  pioneer  in  the  province,  having 
moved  from  Dresden,  Ontario,  in  1874,  where  he  practiced  medicine.  While 
continuing  in  medicine,  he  began  to  take  an  interest  in  public  affairs  almost 
immediately  after  his  arrival.  He  was  Mayor  of  New  Westminster  from 
1876-78,  and  elected  for  the  district  for  the  House  of  Commons  in  1878  as 
a  supporter  of  Sir  John  Macdonald.  He  was  called  to  the  Senate  in  1881, 
in  which  body  he  was  prominent  in  debate  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  British 
Columbia.  He  married  in  1865,  the  relict  of  the  late  George  M.  Webster, 
Dresden,  Ontario,  who  still  survives  him.  He  is  succeeded  in  public  life  by 
his  eldest  son,  Hon.  W.  W.  B.  Mclnnes,  Commissioner  of  Yukon,  who  has 
occupied  a  seat  in  the  Dominion  House  of  Commons,  also  in  the  local  Leg- 
islature and  was  for  a  time  a  member  of  the  Prior  administration. 

Sir  Henri  Joly  de  Lotbiniere. 

By  a  somewhat  peculiar  coincidence,  the  Hon.  Sir  Henri  Gustave  Joly 
de  Lotbiniere,  who  had  been  called  upon  to  form  an  administration  in  Quebec 
at  the  time  Lieutenant-Governor  Letellier  had  dismissed  the  De  Boucherville 


Government  in  1878,  succeeded  Governor  Mclnnes  in  somewhat  similar  cir- 
cumstances.    As  a  statesman  to  whose  career  and  personality  attaches  special 


270  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

interest,  I  beg  to  reproduce  here  a  sketch  of  Sir  Henri's  Hfe  which  appears 
in  Morgan's  "  Canadian  Men  and  Women  of  the  Time," 

"  Hon.  Sir  Henri  Gustave  Joly  de  Lotbiniere,  statesman,  is  the  eldest 
son  of  the  late  Gaspard  Pierre  Gustave  Joly,  a  Huguenot  native  of  France, 
who  became  Seigneur  de  Lotbiniere  by  his  marriage  with  Julie  Christine 
Chartier  de  Lotbiniere,  granddaughter  of  the  last  Marquis  de  Lotbiniere, 
engineer-in-chief  of  New  France.  Born  in  France,  December  5,  1829,  he 
was  educated  at  the  Keller  School,  Paris,  in  company  with  the  late  Mr.  Wad- 
dington,  the  French  Minister.  Coming  to  Canada,  he  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  law  and  was  called  to  the  Quebec  bar,  1855.  He  practiced  his 
profession  in  the  city  and  district  of  Quebec,  and  was  created  a  Q.  C.  1878. 
A  Liberal  politically,  he  was  returned  in  tliat  interest  to  the  Canadian  Assem- 
bly, general  election,  1861,  as  the  representative  of  the  county  of  Lotbiniere. 
He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  debates  on  the  Confederation  of  the  provinces, 
1865-66,  joining  Messrs.  Dorion;  Holton,  Huntington  and  other  Liberal 
leaders  from  Lower  Canada,  in  opposition  to  that  measure.  In  the  first 
election  for  the  United  Provinces,  1867,  he  was  returned  to  the  House  of 
Commons  and  to  the  Provincial  Assembly.  He  remained  a  member  of  both 
these  bodies  until  1874,  when  at  the  abolition  of  dual  representation  he  elected 
to  remain  in  the  local  Legislature.  He  led  the  opposition  in  the  assembly 
against  the  De  Boucher ville  Government  until  March,  1878,  when,  on  the 
dismissal  of  his  ministers  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Letellier,  he  (Mr.  Joly) 
was  called  to  the  Premiership.  While  at  the  head  of  the  Government,  he 
initiated  and  carried  out  a  vigorous  policy  of  retrenchment,  as  well  as  of 
political  purity.  The  salaries  of  the  ministers  and  the  indemnity  of  members 
of  the  Legislature  were  reduced.  An  effort  was  made  to  abolish  the  Legis- 
lative Council  and  all  unnecessary  outlays  were  cut  off.  Defeated  in  the 
House,  1879,  he  resigned,  and  from  that  time  up  to  1883,  was  again  the  leader 
of  the  opposition.  In  1885,  he  retired  from  public  life  in  consequence  of  his 
disapproval  of  the  course  of  the  Liberal  party  and  on  the  Riel  question.     He 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  271 

re-appeared  on  the  surface,  June,  1893,  as  a  delegate  to  the  Reform  Con- 
vention at  Ottawa,  and  was  then  elected  vice-chairman  of  that  important 
gathering.  Later,  in  February,  1894,  he  undertook  a  mission  of  peace  and 
good-will  to  the  Province  of  Ontario,  to  dispel  the  prejudice  existing  there 
against  the  people  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and  to  bring  about  a  better 
feeling  between  the  two  provinces.  In  February,  1895,  'i"  response  to  a 
general  call  from  his  party,  he  agreed  to  return  to  public  life,  and  from  that 
time  took  an  active  part  in  the  agitation  which  led  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's 
success  at  the  polls  at  the  general  election,  1896.  During  the  contest  he  was 
returned  to  the  House  of  Commons  for  Portneuf.  On  the  formation  of  the 
new  administration  at  Ottawa,  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  office  of  Con- 
troller of  Inland  Revenue.  He  became  a  Privy  Councillor  with  the  title  of 
Minister  of  Inland  Revenue,  June  30,  1897.  He  is  an  Honorary  D.  C.  L.  of 
Lennoxville  University  (1887),  an  LL.  D.  of  Queen's  University  (1894), 
and  in  acknowledgment  of  his  public  services  received  the  K.  C.  M.  G.  from 
Her  Majesty,  May,  1895.  He  declined  a  seat  in  the  Senate  in  1874,  and 
again  in  1877.  In  the  latter  year  he  also  declined  a  seat,  with  the  office  of 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  in  the  Mackenzie  administration.  Sir  Henri  is 
known  all  over  the  continent  for  his  interest  in  agriculture,  horticulture  and 
forestry,  having  written  and  spoken  frequently  on  these  subjects. 

"  During  the  existence  of  the  Imperial  Federation  League,  he  gave  the 
scheme  his  entire  support,  and  he  is  now  as  warmly  inclined  towards  the 
British  Empire  League.  He  is  also  connected  with  the  United  Empire  Loy- 
alist Association.  In  religious  belief  he  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  has  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  diocesan  and  provincial  synods  of 
the  Church.  In  1888  he  was  authorized  by  the  Quebec  Legislature  to  add 
de  Lotbiniere,  his  mother's  name,  to  that  of  Joly.  He  married  in  1856,  Mar- 
garette  Josepha,  daughter  of  the  late  Hammond  Gowen,  of  Quebec.  Their 
eldest  son,  Edmund,  adopted  the  legal  profession.     His  two  other  sons  are 


272  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

in  the  British  Army,  and  are  now  and  have  been  for  some  time,  employed  as 
officers  in  India." 

Sir  Henri,  during  the  term  of  his  office,  now  coming  to  a  close,  has 
endeared  himself  to  all  classes,  and  won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  those  with 
whom  he  has  come  into  contact.  He  has  taken  a  keen  interest  in  everything 
pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  province. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  ■  273 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MATERIAL  RESOURCES. 

The  future  of  British  Columbia,  more  than  that  of  any  other  province 
of  Canada,  is  based  upon  its  material  resources.  The  first,  best  known  and 
the  greatest  of  these  is  undoubtedly  that  of  mining.  In  preceding  chapters 
details  have  been  given  of  the  discovery  of  placer  gold,  and  the  rush  of  popu- 
lation which  accompanied  it.  How  recent,  however,  is  the  knowledge  of 
mineral  wealth  existing  on  the  Northwest  coast,  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  Robert  Greenhow,  who  in  1844  published  a  book  dealing  with  the  his- 
torical basis  of  the  Oregon  Boundary  dispute,  not  then  settled,  wrote  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Oregon,  indeed,  contains  land  in  small  detached  portions  which  may 
afford  to  the  industrious  cultivator  the  means  of  subsistence,  and,  also  per- 
haps, in  time,  of  procuring  some  foreign  luxuries ;  but  it  produces  no  precious 
metals,  no  opium,  no  cotton,  no  rice,  no  sugar,  no  coffee ;  nor  is  it,  like  India, 
inhabited  by  a  numerous  population,  who  may  be  easily  forced  to  labor  for 
the  benefit  of  the  few.  With  regard  to  commerce,  it  offers  no  great  advan- 
tages, present  or  immediately  prospective.  It  contains  no  harbor  in  which 
articles  of  merchandise  from  other  countries  will  probably  at  any  future  period 
be  deposited  for  re-exportation;  while  the  extreme  irregularity  of  its  surface 
and  the  obstruction  to  the  navigation  of  its  rivers,  the  removal  of  which  is 
hopeless,  forbid  all  expectation  that  the  productions  of  China,  or  any  other 
country  bordering  on  the  Pacific,  will  ever  be  transported  across  Oregon  to 
the  Atlantic  regions  of  the  continent." 

Oregon,  as  it  was  then  known,  was  of  indefinite  extent,  including  the 
whole  of  the  Pacific  coast,  north  of  California,  as  far  as  Alaska;  containing 
within  its  limits  what  are  now  the  states  of  Oregon  and  Washington  and 


274  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  Province  of  British  Columbia,  exclusive  of  New  Caledonia,  which  lay  at 
the  northeast  corner,  and  was  indisputably  British  territory. 

Greenhow  was  then,  probably,  the  best  informed  man  on  the  subject  in 
America,  and  was  arguing  that  possession  of  this  vast  country,  except  for  po- 
litical reasons,  was  of  no  particular  advantage  to  either  the  United  States  or 
Great  Britain.  This  was  the  opinion  expressed  by  the  majority  of  writers 
on  the  subject  of  the  Oregon  territory,  and  was  undoubtedly  based  on  the 
best  information  available. 

At  that  time  the  Hudson's  Bay ,  Company,  although  their  officials  had 
prospected  the  whole  of  the  territory  for  furs,  had  not  observed  mineral  indi- 
cations sufficient  to  justify  any  other  conclusions.  How  greatly  mistaken 
Greenhow  was  in  the  statement  that  there  were  "  no  precious  metals  "  it  is 
not  necessary  to  comment  upon,  at  the  time,  since  the  whole  of  the  former 
Oregon  territory  has  been  demonstrated  to  be  richly  mineralized,  and  is,  and 
has  been  producing  a  vast  amount  of  mineral  wealth. 

David  Douglas,  the  gifted  scientist,  who  botanized  the  country  in  the 
early  twenties,  discovered  a  deposit  of  lead-silver,  in  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Blue-Bell  mine,  on  Kootenay  Lake,  from  which  it  is  alleged  the  Indians 
used  to  get  a  supply  of  lead  with  which  to  make  bullets. 

Early  History  of  Mining. 

Just  how  and  where  gold  was  first  discovered  in  British  Columbia  is  not 
easy  to  state  with  precision.  The  early  discoveries  of  gold  in  small  quanti- 
ties range  between  the  years  1850  and  1857.  In  1850  specimens  came  from 
Vancouver  Island  and  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  An  incipient  mining  boom 
took  place  at  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  in  185 1  and  1852.  Dr.  Dawson  says 
that  from  one  little  pocket  or  seam  of  gold  in  Gold  Harbor,  Moresby  Island, 
between  $20,000  and  $75,000  were  taken,  or  were  reported  to  have  been  taken. 
It  is  also  stated  by  others  that  more  was  lost  in  the  harbor  in  the  operation 
of  mining  than  was  recovered.     However  much  or  little,  the  "  find  "  ended 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  275 

there.  About  the  same  time  Indians  from  up  the  Skeena  River  brought 
pieces  of  gold  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  fort,  but  the  several  expedi- 
tions to  find  it  in  place  met  with  failure. 

In  the  interior,  gold  was  found  in  the  Natchez  Pass  and  Similkameen  as 
early  as  1852,  and  in  1854  Colville  Indians  were  known  to  have  had  nuggets 
in  their  possession.  It  is  stated  in  Bancroft  that  Chief  Trader  McLean  pro- 
cured gold  dust  from  Indians  near  Kamloops  in  1852.  Various  authorities 
place  the  first  finds  at  various  places.  However,  between  1855  and  1857, 
discoveries  were  made  on  the  Thompson,  on  the  Fraser,  on  the  Columbia  and 
at  Colville,  and  the  news  of  these  discoveries,  together  with  the  despatches  of 
Governor  Douglas  soon  attracted  attention  to  British  Columbia  as  a  possible 
gold  field.  Exploiting  for  gold  was  stimulated  by  the  California  excite- 
ment, and  the  discovery  of  any  new  field  was  sure  to  produce  a  rush.  Sev- 
eral parties  prospected  and  worked  on  the  Fraser  and  Thompson  Rivers  in 
1857  with  good  success,  and  the  news  caused  the  Fraser  River  excitement, 
many  of  the  participants  in  which  are  still  living. 

The  story  has  already  been  told  of  the  rush  of  1858  to  the  Fraser 
River,  and  the  subsequent  discovery  of  immensely  rich  placers  in  the  Cariboo 
country.  It  was  the  discovery  and  exploitation  of  this  gold  that  gave  popu- 
lation and  permanency  to  the  Colony  of  British  Columbia,  and  converted 
it  from  a  fur-bearing  preserve  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to  a  regularly 
constituted  and  politically  organized  British  domain. 

Up  to  1866,  the  principal  operations  were  confined  to  Caribooj  but 
there  were  in  the  meantime,  several  lesser  excitements,  notably  the  discovery 
of  rich  placer  deposits  in  Similkameen,  at  Rock  Creek,  Boundary  Creek  and 
on  Wild  Horse  Creek  in  the  Kootenay  district,  in  the  extreme  southeast- 
ern part  of  the  province.  Then  the  Leech  River  excitement  in  1864,  in  the 
southern  part  of  Vancouver  Island.  And  again  the  Big  Bend  excitement  of 
1865.  The  dqDOsits  of  the  last  named  place  were  found  to  be  rich,  but 
the  inaccessibility  of  the  region,  the  total  lack  of  facilities  for  bringing  in 


276  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

provisions,  and  the  great  hardships  consequent  upon  prospecting  and  mining 
in  this  district,  proved  too  great  for  continued  success,  and  the  excitement 
quickly  subsided.  It  is  quite  probable,  however,  that  the  Big  Bend  country 
will  soon  again  excite  the  interest  of  miners  and  prove  a  rich  field  for  them. 

Shortly  after  the  discovery  of  Cariboo  gold  mines,  the  restless  pros- 
pector began  pushing  his  investigations  further  North,  and  in  1869,  the 
Omineca  Country  was  reached,  where  an  excitement  of  not  inconsiderable 
dimensions  took  place  and  numbers  rushed  in.  These  mines  were  fairly 
remunerative  for  a  time,  and  have  been  more  or  less  operated  ever 
since,  but  in  1872  the  rich  northern  mines  of  the  Cassiar  district,  at  the 
head  waters  of  the  Dease,  were  brought  to  light,  and  the  second  most  notable 
mining  epoch  was  effected.  Out  of  this  district,  some  five  or  six  millions  of 
dollars  in  gold  were  taken.  True  to  his  instinct,  after  the  first  richness 
of  the  Cassiar  creeks  was  exhausted,  the  prospector  pushed  further  and 
further  North,  until  finally  in  1880  gold  was  found  in  paying  quantities  in 
the  tributaries  of  the  Yukon. 

In  1897,  rich  discoveries  of  gold  having  been  made  in  the  tributaries 
of  the  Yukon,  in  .the  vicinity  of  where  Dawson  City  now  is,  another  memor-^ 
abh  rush  took  place,  and  one  which  m.ust,  in  historical  importance,  rank 
next  to  the  Cariboo  excitement.  The  Yukon  has  been  a  rich  fteld,  and  has 
yielded  up  annually  large  quantities  of.  gold  ever  since. 

Attention  having  been  directed  to  the  Northern  country,  it  was  exten- 
sively prospected,  an,d  other  mining  camps  were  .opened  ;  up^  with  more 
or  less  success.  One  of  these  was  just  within  the  Northern  boundaries  of 
British  Colun;ibia,  in  Atlin  District,  which  has  yielded  from  $500,000  to 
$1,000,000  a  year  since  18^.. 

In  1885,  Granite  Creek,  a  tributary  of  l^he  ,Sirnilkameen,  afforded  evi- 
dence of  rich  placers,  and  a  small -''rush  "  occurred,  and  although  not  so 
rich  as  was  reported  at  fi,rst,  it  has  ever  since  occnipied  the  attention  of  pros- 
pectors. ,       ,  ,; 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  m 

Coal,  still  the  predominant  wealth  producer  in  minerals  in  this  province, 
was  known  to  exist  at  a  much  earlier  period  than  was  gold.  It  was  dis- 
covered at  Fort  Rupert  in  1835,  '^"^  ^^^^  "^^^'  ^"  small  quantities.  The 
Indians  are  credited  with  making  its  existence  known  to  the  whites,  the  cir- 
cumstances being  ascribed  to  an  accident.  Some  development  work  was  done 
at  Fort  Rupert  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but  the  mines  there  were 
abandoned  in  185 1  for  those  at  Nanaimo,  which  were  discovered  in  a  man- 
ner somewhat  similar  to  those  at  Fort  Rupert.  The  Indians  had  observed 
a  blacksmith  using  coal,  and  had  informed  him  that  there  was  plenty  of  such 
black  stone  at  Nanaimo,  which,  upon  investigation,  proved  to  be  true.  The 
work  of  mining  was  begun  in  185 1,  and  has  never  been  discontinued. 

Coal  is  said  to  have  been  fotmd  at  Burrard  Inlet  in  an  outcropping  on 
the  shore,  and  H.  M.  S.  "  Phmiper  "  obtained  enough  of  it  there  to  steam  the 
ship  to  Nanaimo.  No  subsequent  indications  have  been  reported.  Borings 
in  the  vicinity  have  proved  unsuccessful  in  revealing'  a  paying  deposit.  The 
coal  beds  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  now  attracting  some  attention,  were  dis- 
covered as  far  back  as  1852,  and  anthracite  was  known  to  exist 

The  finding  of  coal  at  Departure  Bay  by  the  late  Hon.  Robert  Duns- 
muir,  and  its  subsequent  development  by  him  into  the  great  industry  it  is  at 
present,  and  the  fortune  it  brought  with  it,  are  too  well  known  to  require 
detailed  mention  here.  From  3,oc«3  tons  in  1852  the  output  has  gradually 
risen  to  1,000,000  tons  (in  round  numbers)  per  annum. 

Placer  and  Lode  Mining. 

Placer  mining  in  British  Columbia  has  followed  the  usual  course  of 
events  in  all  gold-bearing  countries.  After  the  richest  deposits  had  been 
worked  over  by  the  ordinary  methods,  the  annual  yield  began  to  decline. 
Cariboo  saw  its  best  days  in  1863  and  1864.  The  experience  of  every 
other  camp  has  been  the  same.  The  output  of  1863  was  about  $4,000,000. 
Thirty  years  later  it  was  $360,000,  when  it  reached  its  lowest  ebb.     Then 


278  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

the  scale  began  to  turn,  and  it  has  again  reached  over  $i,cxx),ooo.  There 
is  a  reason  for  that,  not  attributable  to  new  finds,  but  to  newer  methods. 
Grounds  that  no  longer  paid  by  the  use  of  the  rocker,  and  sluicing,  are  being 
made  remunerative  by  hydraulicing  on  a  large  scale,  and  the  expenditure  of 
large  capital.  Tliis  promises  a  revolution,  whereby  the  extensive  auriferous 
areas  of  gravel  and  old  river  beds  can  be  worked  over.  Extensive  hydraul- 
icing plants  have  been  inaugurated  in  Cariboo,  notably  that  of  the  Consoli- 
dated Cariboo  Hydraulicing  Company,  which  has  mining  leases  aggregating 
seveial  thousand  acres  of  land,  all  auriferous.  It  is  estimated  that  there 
are  500,ooo,cxx)  cubic  yards,  which  are  available  for  washing.  Similar 
enterprises  are  contemplated  in  all  the  old  mining  camps,  wherever  conditions 
are  favorable,  so  that  the  era  of  hydraulicing  promises  results  even  greater 
than  in  "  ye  olden  times."  Dredging  and  ground-sluicing  are  also  receiving 
attention. 

There  was  a  long  interval  between  the  time  the  harvest  of  alluvial  dig- 
gings made  British  Columbia  famous,  and  the  time  when  lode-mining  began 
to  show  results.  At  intervals  along  in  the  seventies  and  the  eighties,  there 
were  valuable  finds  reported  in  the  way  of  quartz  veins,  carrying  silver  and 
free  gold  principally.  There  was  a  silver  mine  at  Hope,  of  which  much 
was  heard,  and  into  which  much  money  was  put.  There  was  the  famous 
''  Black  Jack "  of  Cariboo,  which  created  a  temporary  quartz  excitement, 
and  relieved  the  public  of  a  certain  amount  of  money  invested  in  shares. 
Monashee  Mountain  in  Southern  Yale,  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention 
and  some  capital  to  it.  The  old  silver  trail  leading  from  the  main  wagon 
road  into  Jordan  Meadows,  from  Raymond's  Crossing  near  Shawnigan 
Lake,  on  Vancouver  Island,  attests  to  faith  in  a  silver  mine,  that  was  the 
base  of  a  vision  of  wealth  for  some  one.  These  early  attempts,  in  the  light 
of  an  understanding  of  the  conditions  which  exist  generally  in  British  Colum- 
bia, were  foredoomed  to  failure,  even  if  the  mineral  had  been  "  in  place " 
according  to  anticipation.     Many  persons  have  wondered  why  it  was  that 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  279 

this  province,  if  as  rich  and  as  widely  mineralized  as  reported,  did  not  de- 
velop faster  as  a  mineral  producer.     In  certain  circles,  as  a  result  of  "  hope 
oft  deferred,"   the   impression  did  gain  ground  that  British  Columbia  was 
a  doubtful  mining  field,  notwithstanding  the  rich  surface  exposures,  and  we 
heard  a  good  deal  about  "  broken  formations  "  and  "  refractory  ores,"  as  an 
explf.nation  of  the  unsatisfactory  results  of  preliminary  exploitation.     Over 
and  over  again,  the  most  sanguine  anticipations  were  formed  of  some  unusu- 
ally rich  prospect,  and  the  public,  through  the  newspapers,  each  time  felt 
confident  of  success ;   but  soon  or  later,  according  to  the  amount  of  funds  at 
the  disposal  of  the  promoters,  silence  reigned  regarding  them,  and  the  public, 
not  in  their  confidence,  wondered  why.     Now,  the  public  were  not  "  bun- 
coed," at  least,  in  the  majority  of  cases.     The  promoters  believed  in  their 
properties  implicitly,  and  backed  their  faith  with  their  own  capital.     Failure 
was   usually  the   result  of  not   properly  appreciating  the  conditions   which 
make  success  in  mining,     They  were  not  mistaken,  but  they  were  too  soon. 
Like  the  pioneer,  the  inventor,  and  the  reformer,  who  usually  see  the  fruits 
of  their  efforts  reaped  by  those  who  have  not  sown,  they  were  just  a  little 
in  advance  of  their  time.     The  key  to  success  lay  in  the  providing  of  facilities 
of   communication,   without  which   it  was   impossible  to  win.     There  were 
otlicr  things  as  well.    Twenty  or  thirty  years  ago,  had  there  been  the  railway 
facilities  we  possess  today,  many  of  the  properties  now  worked  at  a  profit, 
could  not  have  been  properly  operated.     The  reason  for  this  is,  that  the  proc- 
esses of  mining  and  smelting  have  so  improved  in  that  time,  that  the  low 
grade  ores,  such  as  are  being  handled  in  great  quantities  in  the  Boundary 
and  Rossland  camps,  would  have  been  useless.     Every  mining  country  has 
its  peculiarities,    and    its    particular    requirements,  and  time  and  experience 
are  necessary  to  determine  the  processes  and  methods  best  suited  to  the  treat- 
ment of  its  ores. 

Communication,  however,  was  the  principal  want  of  the  country  in  the 
early  days  of  the  development  of  quartz  mines.     It  is  yet,  to  a  very  large 


280  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

extent.    Whatever  are  the  metallurgical  problems  to  be  solved,  no  success  can 
be  achieved  until  there  are  railways,   or  tramways  to  connect  mines  with 
the  waterways,  affording  cheap  transportation.    The  successful  mining  camps 
today,  are  located  only  in  those  parts  of  the  province,  where  such  transporta- 
tion exists,  as  in  the  Boundary,  Trail  Creek  and  Slocan  districts,  in  East 
Kootenay  and  on  the  coast  of  Vancouver  Island.     These  have  only  touched 
the  rim  of  the  mining  possibilities,  within  which  are  a  vast  field,  over  most  of 
which  prospectors  have  trodden,  and  discovered  indications  of  mineral  wealth. 
This  field  still  waits  the  whistle  of  the  railway  train  to  make  it  alive  with 
industry'.     We  have  the  promise    of    two    more    transcontinental    railways, 
piercing  the  Rockies  north  of  the  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  within 
the  next  five  years,  and  of  one  or  two  systems  following  the  natural  lines 
of  travel  north  and  south,  after  which  will  follow  the  inevitable  network  of 
branch  lines.     In  twenty-five  years  from  now,  the  province  should  be  yield- 
ing $200,000,000  worth  of  minerals  annually,  instead  of  its  present  output  of 
$20,000,000. 

The  first  quartz  mining  of  any  importance,  was  done  at  Camp  McKin- 
ney,  which  was  discovered  in  the  year  1884.  One  mine  there,  the  Cariboo- 
Amelia,  paid  dividends  to  the  extent  of  $550,000,  and  only  closed  down  in 
1903.  Ainsworth,  or  as  it  was  known  in  early  days  as  Hot  Springs,  on  the 
Kootenay  Lake,  was  one  of  the  first  camps  to  be  developed.  Dr.  Dawson, 
in  1889,  found  mining  being  actively  carried  on,  and  it  had  been  for  several 
years  previous.  About  that  time,  prospecting  and  preliminary  mining  de- 
velopments were  very  active  all  through  the  West  Kootenay  country,  and  in 
parts  of  East  Kootenay.  In  the  vicinity  of  Nelson,  Revelstoke,  Rossland,  and 
Lardeau,  in  West  Kootenay,  and  in  East  Kootenay  in  the  Golden  and  Winder- 
mere divisions,  the  countr}'  swarmed  with  prospectors  and  miners.  The 
celebrated  Hall  mines,  on  Toad  Mountain,  near  Nelson,  was  discovered  in 
the  fall  of  1886,  and  located  the  following  year.  The  Field  mine  was  in 
operation  in  1888.     A  location  was  made  in  Comaplix,  in  the  Lardeau  dis- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  281 

*-r-irL  in  the  same  year.  The  first  claim  recorded  in  the  Rossland  camp,  was 
*n  1889.  The  Centre  Star,  War  Eagle  and  Le  Roi,  were  located  in  1890, 
"nd  in  1891  came  the  almost  sensational  discovery  of  the  Slocan,  which  pro- 
'^«ced  a  boom  in  1892,  upon  the  top  of  which  Kaslo  came  to  the  fore.  Ross- 
'and  and  Trail  were  later  developments.  The  Boundary  district,  though 
'blower  of  development,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  railway  facilities,  which 
were  not  supplied  until  1899,  had  its  beginnings  even  earlier.  In  1886-7, 
mineral  was  discovered  and  located  near  Boundary  Falls,  in  Copper  Camp. 
But  it  was  not  until  the  early  nineties,  that  the  properties  that  have  become 
the  chief  producing  factors — the  Mother  Lode,  the  Old  Ironsides  and  Knob 
Hill  claims — were  staked.  The  North  Star  mine  at  Kimberly,  in  East 
Kootenay,  was  staked  in  1892.  We  have  also  the  Eugene  group  of  claims 
on  Moyie  Lake,  and  the  Sullivan  group  near  Kimberly,  which  came  into 
prominence  about  the  same  tim.e,  and  have  been  large  producers.  Fairview 
Camp,  in  the  Yale  district,  was  the  scene  of  active  operations  over  ten 
years  ago,  and  a  good  deal  of  capital  has  been  invested  in  development 
work  and  stamp  mills.  Important  discoveries  of  copper-gold  were  made  on 
Mount  Sicker,  in  1896  or  1897,  and  large  developments  followed,  and  two 
smelters.  Prior  to  that,  however,  Texada  Island  began  to  attract  attention, 
and  in  1896  a  small  test  shipment  was  sent  out,  and  a  smelter  to  treat  the 
ores  was  erected  in  1899.  The  Marble  Bay  mine,  near  the  Van  Anda,  has 
been  a  regular  shipper.  The  largest  body  of  copper  ore  yet  discovered  any- 
where on  the  Coast,  has  been  on  the  East  shore  of  Howe  Sound,  and  com- 
prises what  is  known  as  the  Britannia  group,  officially  described  in  the  Min- 
ister of  Mines  report  for  1900.  Good  properties  were  located  on  the  Alberni 
Canal  about  ten  years  ago,  and  several  fairly  well-developed  mines  have  been 
the  result. 

It  is  impossible  in  brief  space,  to  follow  the  course  of  mining  develop- 
ment in  the  wide  area  of  the  province  over  which  the  prospector  has  travelled 
and   staked.      Important   discoveries   have  been  made  at  Quatsino,   on   the 


283  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Northwest  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  at  various  points  up  the  Coast,  as 
far  as  Windy  Arm,  at  the  boundary  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia; 
on  the  Skeena  River,  and  in  the  Bulkley  Valley;  at  Sooke  and  Coldstream, 
Vancouver  Island;  in  the  Pitt  and  Harrison  River  districts,  on  the  Lower 
Mainland;  in  the  Mount  Baker  district,  near  Chilliwack;  on  Burrard  and 
Jervis  inlets ;  on  several  islands  not  mentioned ;  in  the  Lillooet ;  in  the  Fish 
River,  Ferguson,  Trout  Lake,  Poplar  Creek  camps,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
Lardeau  district.  Perhaps  the  most  important  district  is  in  Yale  county, 
included  in  what  is  known  as  the  Similkameen.  This  section  of  the  province 
has  been  delayed,  owing  to  the  lack  of  transportation.  In  Similkameen, 
there  are  many  and  extensive  copper  deposits,  and  at  Hedley,  a  new  mining 
camp,  there  is  located  a  very  promising  gold  property  called  the  Nickel 
Plate,  which  has  forty  stamps  in  operation.  From  the  various  local  mining 
centres,  hurriedly  indicated,  the  prospector  has  branched  out  and  staked 
the  country  in  many  directions. 

Many  small  towns  and  incorporated  cities  (every  incorporated  town  is 
classified  as  a  city)  have  sprung  up,  following  the  course  of  mining  devel- 
opment, each  with  a  bright  future  predicted  by  its  founders.  Thus  Kalso 
and  Kamloops  were  incorporated  in  1893  (Kamloops,  however,  was  for  a 
long  time  the  urban  centre  of  the  Yale  District) ;  Nelson,  Grand  Forks, 
Greenwood  and  Rossland  in  1897;  Sandon  in  1898,  Phoenix  in  1900,  and 
Slocan  and  Trail  in  1901.  There  are  others  such  as  Fernie  and  Revelstoke, 
which  have  been  incorporated  since  that  time;  but  there  is  a  long  list  that 
are  the  direct  creation  of  the  mining  industry,  such  as  Ainsworth,  Atlin, 
Comaplix,  Crofton,  Eholt,  Elko,  Ferguson,  Fairview,  Fort  Steele,  Hedley, 
Ladysmith,  Michel,  Morrisey,  Moyie,  New  Denver,  Quesnel  Forks,  Silverton, 
Three  Forks,  Trout  Lake,  Bullion,  Camborne.  Some  of  these  are  already  in 
the  "  sere  and  yellow  leaf,"  following  the  fortunes  of  the  camps  that  gave 
them  life  and  activity,  but  the  majority  are  substantial  and  growing,  while 
others  are  springing  up. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  28^ 

Coal  and  Other  Minerals. 
l"he  history  of  coal  mining  is  not  less  interesting  than  that  of  the  other 
minerals.  Already,  a  short  sketch  has  been  given  of  the  very  early  opera- 
tions. The  mines  at  Nanaimo  and  Departure  Bay  developed  into  extensive 
industries,  finding  their  principal  market  in  San  Francisco.  The  Vancouver 
Coal  Company,  which  was  controlled  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was 
subsequently  reorganized  in  London,  under  the  title  of  the  New  Vancouver 
Coal  Company,  which  carried  on  operations  for  years.  Recently  their  prop- 
erties were  acquired  by  the  Western  Fuel  Company,  whose  shareholders  are 
American.  The  mines  at  Departure  Bay  are  not  now  worked,  and  Welling- 
ton is  now  practically  a  deserted  town.  R.  Dunsmuir  &  Sons,  the  owners, 
have  opened  up  a  new  and  valuable  mine,  known  as  the  Extension  mine, 
in  Cranberry  district.  The  other  well  known  mines,  also  operated  by  R. 
Dunsmuir  &  Sons,  are  at  Union,  in  the  Comox  Valley.  The  Union  mines 
have  shipped  extensively  for  years.  Coal  exists  in  many  parts  of  the  province, 
— at  Quatsino,  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  in  the  Northern  Interior,  in  the 
.Similkameen  and  Nicola  districts,  and  in  the  Crow's  Nest  Pass,  but  with  the 
exception  of  the  last  named,  have  not  been  utilized.  An  interesting  history 
is  connected  with  the  development  of  the  coal  fields  of  the  Crow's  Nest 
Pass.  It  dates  back  as  far  as  1887.  In  June  of  that  year,  Mr.  William 
Fernie,  then  of  Fort  Steele,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Baker,  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Legislature,  decided  to  prospect  the  coal  measures,  the  existence 
of  which  had  been  reported  by  Mr.  Michael  Phillipps,  an  old  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  employee.  Every  summer,  for  eight  or  nine  years,  Mr.  Fernie 
took  men  from  Fort  Steele  to  the  Elk  River  district,  where  they  prospected 
the  coal  seams  outcropping  there.  A  syndicate  was  formed  in  Victoria,  to 
acquire  and  develop  them.  Eventually,  a  company  was  organized  to  take 
over  the  syndicate's  holdings,  and  a  charter  from  the  Provincial  Legislature 
obtained,  authorizing  the  construction  of  the  British  Columbia  Southern  Rail- 
way, for  which  a  land  subsidy  was  obtained,  to  give  access  to  this  coal  dis- 


284  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

trict.  After  a  long  series  of  negotiations,  which  forms  a  most  imiwrtani 
chapter  in  the  political  history  of  this  province  and  of  Canada,  an  agree- 
ment was  finally  closed  with  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  railway  through  Crow's  Nest  Pass,  to  connect  with  its  line  at 
Lethhridge,  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  thus  affording  direct  connection  be- 
tween the  Eastern  wholesale  markets,  and  those  of  the  Kootenay  mininj^ 
towns.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  Crow's  Nest  Pass  Coal  Company,  controllea 
by  Senator  Cox,  Robert  Jaffray  and  other  Eastern  moneyed  associates,  ac- 
quired the  coal  lands,  and  have  developed  the  mines,  which  are  now  produc- 
ing both  coal  and  coke  on  a  large  scale.  These  mines,  and  the  coking  industry 
in  connection,  supply  the  smelters  of  the  Interior  with  coke,  which  is  largely 
shipped  to  the  United  States  as  well.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  of 
these  coal  fields,  their  area  is  estimated  by  Dr.  Dawson,  to  be  about  two 
hundred  (200)  square  miles.  For  a  portion  of  this  area.  Dr.  Selwyn,  for- 
merly director  of  the  Geological  Survey,  estimates  the  coal  underlying  eaclr 
square  mile  to  be  49,952,000  tons.  Thus  we  have  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
coal  basins  known.  Assuming  that  the  estimate  of  Dr.  Selwyn  holds  good 
for  half  the  area,  and  the  production  at  10,000  tons  a  day,  the  supply  in 
sight  is  sufficient  to  last  500,000  years,  quite  long  enough  to  relieve  imme- 
diate posterity  from  the  danger  of  a  fuel  famine. 

For  the  present,  the  output  of  coal  is  affected  by  the  use  of  petroleum 
for  fuel  purposes,  which  is  restricting  the  market,  formerly  enjoyed.  The 
increasing  use  of  coke  in  smelters,  however,  is  in  some  measure  compensating 
for  the  competition  in  oil  fuel;  and  forever  the  coal  measures  of  British 
Columbia  must  remain  one  of  the  greatest  of  provincial  assets. 

There  is  not  time  or  space  to  review  all  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
province.  The  next  most  important  mineral,  and  it  may  prove  eventually 
to  be  the  most  important,  is  iron.  As  yet,  it  has  not  taken  on  the  same  degree 
of  economic  importance  as  the  other  minerals  reviewed,  from  the  fact  that 
the  iron  industry  has  not  yet  been  established  on  this  Coast,  but  prospects 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  285 

in  that  direction  are  visibly  brighter.  Iron  ores  in  British  Columbia  are 
•widely,  distributed  throughout  the  Mainland  and  along  the  coast  of  both 
Island  and  Mainland.  Although  the  Mainland  has  been  but  little  prospected 
■for  iron  ores,  extensive  deposits  are  known  to  exist  at  Cherry  Creek,  near 
Kamloops;  at  Bull  Creek,  Gray  Creek,  and  Kitchener  (Goat  River)  in  East 
Kootenay;  and  are  reported  in  the  mountains  north  of  Trail  and  in  the 
Cariboo  district.  On  the  Coast,  iron  deposits  occur  on  Texada  Island  and 
adjacent  islands,  at  Rivers  Inlet,  and'  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  The 
most  important  of  these  exist  on  the  Island  of  Vancouver,  at  Sooke,  Malahat 
Mountain,  Port  Renfrew  (at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  River),  Barkley 
Sound  (including  Sarita  River  and  Cooper  Island),  Alberni  Canal,  Hesquoit 
Harbor,  Nootka  Sound  and  Quatsino  Sound."  As  a  rule,  the  iron  ore  is 
inagnetite  in  character,  but  deposits  of  Hematite  hav6  been  discovered  at 
Quatsino,  near  Chemainu's,  at  Kitchener,  and  one  or  two  other  points,  but  not 
sufficient  has  been  done  to  determine  their  extent  or  value.  There  is  little 
doubt  but  that  the  bodiesofiroh,  especially  on  the  West  Coast  of  ^Vancouver 
Island,  are  sufficiently  extensive  to  maintain  large  blast  furnaces  '  for  an 
indefinite  time.  - 

The  conditions  which  affect  the  rtianufa^cture  of  iron  on  the  Coast  of 
British  Columbia,  are  favorable  in  the  extreme,  if  we  except  the^qii'estioh 
of  market,  which  is  yet  an  uhdeterfnihed  factor.  They  are:  cheap  water', 
transportation,  and' easy  access  to  the  water;  good  fuel  at  low*  cost,  with 
abundance  of  pure  lime  for  fluxes.  It  is  true  that  labor  is  higher  on  this 
Coast,  biit  the  demand  created  by  the  existence  of  blast  fuinaces,  w'ould 
probably  tend'  to  equalize  conditions  in  that  respect.  The  other  favorable 
conditions,  however,  would  tend  to  offset  the  price  of  labor,  and  place  the  in- 
dustry on  a  very  favorable  basis"  as  compared  with  other  parts  of  the  world! 

The  other  minerals,  which  are  possessed  in  British  Columbia  in'  suf- 
ficient quantity  to  be  of  importance  econoniicallv,  are  zihc,  associated  prin- 
cipially  with  the  silver-lead  ores  of  the"  Kootenay s';  cinnabar,  the 'quicksilver- 


286  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

bearing  zone,  two  miles  wide,  having  been  traced  for  thirty  miles,  crossing 
Kamloops  Lake,  about  three  miles  above  the  lower  end  of  it ;  platinum,  which 
occurs  principally  in  the  Tulameen,  a  branch  of  the  Similkameen,  and  in  the 
copper  ores  of  Boundary  and  Rossland,  and  in  the  placers  of  Cariboo  and 
Cassiar;  mica,  found  in  large  quantities  and  excellent  quality,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Tete  Jeune  Cache ;  gypsum  in  the  vicinity  of  Kamloops ;  and  lime  in  abun- 
dance in  many  parts  of  the  province.  Sulphur  in  the  form  of  pyrites  is  more 
or  less  general;  arsenic,  osmiridium,  scheelite  and  other  minerals  are  also 
found.  Tin,  nickel,  asbestos  and  manganese  have  not  been  reported  to  exist 
to  any  extent. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  which  of  the  four  main  resources  of  the  Prov- 
ince are  the  most  important.  Mining  has  by  general  consent  been  given  the 
first  place,  and  it  will  probably  continue  to  occupy  that  place  for  some  years 
to  come,  if  not  forever.  The  value  and  extent  of  the  fisheries  are  as  yet 
somewhat  problematical,  though  it  is  doubtful  even  if  fully  developed,  they 
would  yield  the  same  amount  of  wealth  as  the  minerals  of  the  Province.  De- 
velopment in  the  case  of  the  fisheries  means  depletion,  unless  means  and 
methods  are  adopted  to  insure  propagation  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the 
fishing  operations.  There  is  great  forest  wealth  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  the 
timber  is  doomed  to  extinction  along  with  that  of  the  older  parts  of  America. 
Up  to  the  present  time,  no  systematic  or  comprehensive  system  of  protection 
and  of  forestration  has  been  adopted,  and  without  it,  between  the  forest  fires 
and  the  lumbermen,  this  capital  resource  will  soon  vanish.  As  yet,  we  have 
vast  reserves,  but  with  many  loggers  and  mills  at  work,  its  disappearance  will 
be  much  more  rapid  than  the  growth  of  new  timber.  The  resource,  however, 
upon  which  the  highest  permanent  hopes  may  be  based,  is  that  of  Agriculture 
in  all  its  branches.  We  are  told  that  the  rainbow  was  placed  in  the  sky  as 
a  token  that  as  long  as  it  remained  there,  there  would  be  seedtime  and  harvest. 
It  is  morally  certain  that  with  rain  and  sunshine  the  industry,  which  is  the 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  287 

foundation  of  all  industry  and  wealth,  will  continue  unimpaired  and  perpetually 
productive.  Owing  to  the  potentialities  of  the  soil  and  climate  in  British 
Columbia,  the  future  of  the  Province  is  of  the  brightest  possible  character,  and 
although  the  area  of  arable  land  is  limited  as  compared  with  other  provinces 
in  Canada,  it  is  not  inconceivable  that  the  output  of  the  farms  and  orchards 
of  British  Columbia  will  yet  be  greater  than  that  of  the  mines.  Taking  these 
resources  in  the  order  of  their  relative  importance,  as  they  appear  at  present 
from  the  value  of  the  annual  output,  they  are : 

Fisheries, 

There  is  a  considerable  variation  in  the  value  of  the  output  of  the  fisheries 
from  year  to  year.  In  1901,  which  was  the  record  year,  owing  to  the  large 
salmon  pack,  the  yield  of  fisheries  was  estimated  in  value  to  be  about  $8,ckx>,- 
000.  The  word  "  estimated  "  is  used  because  outside  of  the  salmon  pack, 
there  are  no  absolutely  exact  returns.  In  1902,  the  value  of  the  yield  fell  to 
$5,280,000.  It  is  not  proposed  to  go  into  a  minute  history  of  the  fishing  in- 
dustry in  this  Province. 

The  salmon  canning  fishery,  which  has  developed  to  such  large  propor- 
tions, practically  began  in  the  year  1876  on  the  Fraser  River,  New  Westmin- 
ster District,  The  first  pack  amounted  to  almost  10,000  cases,  which  rapidly 
increased.  The  pack  was  225,000  cases  in  1883 ;  204,000  cases  in  1887;  315,- 
000  cases  in  189 1 ;  over  1,000,000  cases  in  1897,  and  over  1,236,000  cases 
in  1901.  These  were  mainly  big  years.  Statistics  show,  with  more  or  less 
regularity,  every  fourth  year  to  have  been  big  years,  followed  by  one  or  two  lean 
years.  The  exact  cause  of  this  periodicity,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Fraser 
River,  has  never  been  definitely  ascertained.  The  development  of  the  salmon 
fishing  for  commercial  purposes  was  gradual  at  first,  but  proceeded  more  rap- 
idly in  later  years.  It  extended  from  the  Fraser  River  to  the  Northern  rivers 
and  inlets,  and  we  find  canneries  located  at  Rivers  Inlet,  Skeena  and  Naas 


288  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Rivers,  Lowe  Inlet,  Dean  Canal,  Namu  Harbor,  Bella  Coola,  Smith's  Inlet, 
Alert  Bay,  and  on  the  West  coast  of  Vancouver  Island. 

Recently,  presumably  as  a  result  of  the  numerous  canneries  operated 
and  the  catching  of  fish  in  traps  by  American  fishermen  before  they 
reach  the  Fraser  River,'  there  has  been  signs  of  depletion,  and  attention 
has  been  directed  particularly  to  the  increase  of  the  natural  supply  by 
artificial  methods  of  propagation,  and  by  an  endeavor  to  secure  co-opera- 
tion with  canneries  operating  on  the  American  side,  and  uniformity  of 
regulation  with  a  view  to  prevention  of  destructive  methods  and  perman- 
ent sources  of  supply.  The  cannerymen,  both  north  and  south  of  the 
boundary  line  fully  appreciate  the  importance  of  this  and  undoubtedly  in  the 
near  future  a  mutual  understanding  will  be  arrived  at.  The  artificial  propa- 
gation of  salmon  by  means  of  hatcheries  began  in  1885.  In  1902  the  Prov- 
ince erected  a  large  hatchery  at  Setori  Lake,  which  last  year  had  an  output 
of  over  forty  million  of  salmon  fry.  About  the  same  time  that  the  Province 
undertook  artificial  propagation,  the  Dominion  Government  began  erecting 
other  hatcheries,  and  there  are  now  four  operating  on  the  Fraser  River,  Gran- 
ite Creek,  Shuswap  Lake,  Skeena  and  Nimkish  Rivers. 

A  comparatively  small  trade  is  carried  on  in  fresh,  dry,  salted  and  smoked 
salmon.  The  salmon  most  used  for  cannery  purposes  are  the  sockeye  and  co- 
hoes.  The  spring  salmon  and  steelhead  form  the  staple  product  for  fresh 
fish  export,  while  the  dog  salmon  is  now  being  utilized  for  the  Japanese  and 
other  markets,  in  which  a  cheap  product  finds  a  demand.  The  fish  next  in 
importance  to  the  salmon  is  the  halibut,  which  is  found  in  great  quantities 
in  Hecate  Straits  and  along  the  coast  to  the  northward.  Within  the  last  ten 
or  twelve  years,  the  halibut  industry  has  developed  into  large  proportions,  and 
now  over  ten  to  fifteen  million  pounds  is  being  shipped  annually  by  the  New 
England  and  other  American  companies,  from  Vancouver  and  Seattle,  to  the 
Eastern  markets. 

The  range  of  foot!  fishes  on  this  coast  is  not  as  wide  as  on  the  Atlantic, 


ft 


■:  1  V 


f   .\'l  K 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  289 

but  the  quantity  available  in  each  is  much  larger.  The  prime  food  fishes  out- 
side of  the  salmon  and  halibut  referred  to,  are  the  oolachan,  or  candle  fish, 
herring,  sea  bass,  cod,  sturgeon,  shad,  and  a  fish  found  in  great  quantities  on 
the  coast  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  known  as  black  cod  or  "  skill,"  some- 
what resembling  the  mackerel.  The  herring  industry,  recently  inaugurated, 
promises  to  become  important,  as  the  herring  run  in  immense  numbers.  Whale 
fishing  has  been  inaugurated  on  the  West  Coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  a 
guano  factory  has  been  established  in  connection.  There  are  other  fish,  such 
as  dog  fish  and  sharks,  which  are  utilized  to  some  extent  for  their  oil.  The 
principal  game  fish  in  the  Province  is  the  trout,  which  is  found  in  all  the  waters 
of  British  Columbia,  and  the  spring  or  tyee  salmon.  Those  who  have  paid 
attention  to  the  fishery  resources  of  the  Province  claim  that  there  is  a  great 
future  ahead,  as  soon  as  markets  have  been  found.  Considerable  capital  has 
been  exj>ended  in  experimental  work  in  various  processes  in  the  curing  of  fish. 
So  far  it  has  not  assumed  large  proportions. 

Forest  Wealth. 

Turning  now  to  the  timber  resources  of  the  Province,  it  is  rather  hazard- 
ous to  make  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  standing  timber  available  for  com- 
merce. No  estimate  can  be  regarded  as  reliable.  Official  publications  give 
the  timber  area  of  British  Columbia  as  i82,75o,ocx)  acres,  but  a  great  deal  of 
that,  while  timbered,  is  not  commercially  of  use  except  for  local  purposes. 
Much  of  it  is  covered  with  small  trees,  only  fit  for  fuel  and  mine  timber.  How- 
ever, it  may  be  safely  stated,  that  the  largest  and  most  important  reserves  of 
timber  available  on  the  North  American  continent  for  commercial  purposes, 
are  to  be  found  in  British  Columbia.  There  are  large  detached  limits  of  useful 
forest  in  the  southern  interior  of  the  Province,  now  being  utilized  for  export  to 
the  Northwest.  This  timber  is  much  smaller  than  that  found  on  the  coast, 
where  the  trees  grow  to  very  large  proportions;  but  still  large  as  compared 
with  that  grown  in  the  East.     On  coast  limits  as  high    as    three    hundred 


2U0  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

thousand  feet  of  timber  have  been  cut  from  one  acre,  but  the  best  limits  aver- 
age from  twenty-five  to  fifty  thousand  feet.  These  are  found  on  the  lower 
Mainland,  on  Vancouver  Island  and  the  adjacant  coast  of  the  Mainland,  and 
intervening  islands  as  far  north  as  the  northern  part  of  Vancouver  Island, 
where  the  Douglas  fir  disappears.  The  principal  timbers  are  the  Douglas  fir, 
which  is  the  most  important  and  widely  distributed  of  the  commercial  trees, 
red  cedar,  spruce,  western  white  pine,  western  yellow  pine  (or  bull  pine),  hem- 
lock, western  larch,  and  to  a  limited  extent,  yellow  cedar.  There  are  no  de- 
ciduous trees  of  great  commercial  importance.  Alder  and  maple  are  used  in 
a  limited  way  for  finishing  woods,  but  the  supply  is  not  large.  There  is  some 
oak  on  the  southern  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  but  of  little  use  commercially. 
Cottonwood  has  been  used  for  the  manufacture  of  "  excelsior,"  while  arbutus, 
dogwood,  buckthorn  and  crab  apple  have  occasional  special  uses.  It  is  pos- 
sible, however,  to  greatly  diversify  the  useful  hard  woods  of  the  Province,  as 
walnut,  butternut,  hickory,  elm,  oak,  beech,  hard  maples,  ash,  etc.,  can  be  culti- 
vated and  grow  rapidly.  The  utilization  of  spruce,  hemlock  and  Douglas  fir 
along  the  coast,  for  the  manufacture  of  paper  pulp,  has  had  considerable  atten- 
tion paid  to  it  within  the  last  few  years,  and  several  large  companies  have 
been  organized  with  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  pulp  and  paper  industries. 
Only  preliminary  work  has  yet  been  undertaken,  but  great  hopes  are  enter- 
tained for  the  future.  There  are  over  one  hundred  saw  mills  in  the  Province, 
big  and  small,  with  a  combined  daily  capacity  of  over  two  million  feet,  but 
this  limit  has  never  been  reached;  the  annual  cut  running  between  three 
hundred  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  million  feet.  An  important  feature  of  the 
timber  industry  in  recent  years  has  been  the  manufacture  of  shingles  from  red 
cedar. 

A  large  market  is  found  in  the  Northwest  and  Eastern  Canada.     With    . 
the  exception  of  the  foreign  export  trade,  amounting  to  about  fifty  million 
feet  per  annum,  and  a  considerable  local  demand,  the  principal  market  for  the 
timber  of  the  mills  of  the  Province  is  found  in  the  Northwest  provinces 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  291 

and  Manitoba.  For  a  long-  period  of  years,  the  timber  industry  was  in  a  de- 
pressed condition,  but  with  the  opening  up  of  the  Northwest,  a  new  avenue  of 
trade  was  found,  and  this  market  has  been  increasing  in  importance  with 
the  remarkable  rush  of  population  which  has  taken  place  recently,  so  that  at 
present,  the  lumber  industry  is  in  a  more  prosperous  condition  than  ever  it 
was  before.  Timber  lands  have  been  in  great  demand,  and  new  mills  are  being 
erected  and  old  ones  enlarged  and  modernized. 

Statistics  of  the  timber  and  lumber  industry  are  not  available  prior  to 
the  year  1888,  when  the  reports  of  the  Inspector  of  Forestry  began  to  be  pub- 
lished. Since  that  time  a  very  complete  annual  statement  has  been  included 
in  the  report  of  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works.  However,  a 
careful  estimate  of  the  cut  of  timber  in  the  Province  since  the  commencement 
of  the  industry,  made  from  available  data  in  various  years,  gives  the  following 
results:  To  1871,  250,000,000  feet;  from  1871  to  1888,  595,000,000  feet; 
from  1888  to  1904,  inclusive,  2,569,759,262  feet,  or  in  the  aggregate,  3,414,- 
759,262  feet.  If  we  add  to  the  above  the  amount  of  lumber  manufactured  on 
Dominion  Government  lands,  and  that  cut  from  private  lands  concerning 
which  there  is  no  official  record,  the  total  will  be  very  materially  increased. 

Agriculture. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  permanent  character  and  bright 
possibilities  of  the  agricultural  industry  in  British  Columbia.  The  achieve- 
ments in  this  direction  for  the  past  ten  years  are  sufficient  upon  which  to  base 
the  most  sanguine  anticipations.  There  are  several  elements  which  give  great 
promise  to  the  industry.  The  first  is  climate,  which  except  in  the  most  re- 
mote northerly  parts  of  the  Province,  is  conducive  to  the  best  results.  On  the 
Coast  it  is  particularly  mild  and  equable,  and,  therefore,  favorable  to  small 
fruits,  pears,  plums,  cherries,  and  several  varieties  of  apples,  to  nearly  all 
kinds  of  vegetables,  for  dairying  and  stock  purposes,  and  to  grain  growing, 
with  the  exception  of  wheat,  which  does  not  ripen  sufficiently  hard  for  milling. 


292  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

In  the  interior  valleys,  where  the  heat  is  much  greater  in  the  summer  time  and 
the  winters  are  dry  and  cold,  the  range  of  agricultural  products  in  all  lines 
is  even  greater  because  we  have  added  to  the  fruits  and  grain  already  referred 
to  those  which  require  more  heat  and  greater  cold  for  maturing  perfectly,  for 
instance,  it  is  possible  to  grow  tomatoes,  peaches  and  grapes,  which  require 
greatei"  heat,  and  a  greater  variety  of  apples,  which  reach  their  perfection  in  a 
cold,  rigorous  climate.  The  finest  of  wheat  for  milling  purposes  can  also  be 
grown.  The  soil  suitable  for  agriculture  is  everywhere  very  productive,  and 
the  yields  on  the  average  are  greater  than  in  any  other  part  of  Canada.  This 
productiveness  is  a  result  of  a  combination  of  soil  and  climate.  The  growing 
season  is  long  and  conduces  to  the  best  quality.  From  a  commercial  point  of 
view,  the  conditions  are  peculiarly  favorable.  The  distance  from  Eastern 
Canada  afifords  a' natural  protection  in  the  way  of  freight  rates,  and  the  duty 
on  agricultural  products  prevents  over  competition  from  the  Pacific  Coast 
states  of  America.  The  condition,  however,  which  peculiarly  favors  fruit 
growing  in  British  Columbia  is  the  continuity  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
now  rapidly  filling  up  with  population.  In  addition  to  the  home  market,  which 
is  a  large  and  profitable  one  and  continuously  growing,  the  fruit-grower  has 
the  Northwest  practically  to  himself,  and  has  heretofore  been  able  to  obtain 
the  highest  prices  for  all  he  could  grow  of  the  right  varieties  properly  packed. 
The  market,  in  fact,  for  fruit  is  increasing  more  rapidly  than  the  ability  of 
the  fruit  grower  to  supply  it,  and  particularly  in  view  of  the  expanding  popula- 
tion, there  need,  therefore,  be  no  anxiety  for  many  years  to  come  in  regard  to 
over  production. 

There  has  always  been,  too,  a  large  local  demand  for  dairy  products,  poul- 
try and  eggs,  which  the  home  product  has  been  unable  to  fully  supply.  Farm- 
ers obtain  the  highest  prices  for  their  butter,  eggs  and  poultry.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  interior  valleys — where  stock  growing  has  been  carried  on  on  a 
large  scale,  by  being  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  bunch  grass  ranges  of  the 
hill  sides — British  Columbia  is  not  a  country  for  large  ranches ;  all  the  condi- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  293 

tions  are  opposed  to  farming  on  a  larg^e  scale.  Therefore,  the  agriculturist 
is,  by  virtue  of  such  conditions,  compelled  to  undertake  mixed  farming  on  a 
small  scale,  which,  in  the  experience  of  the  world,  has  proved  to  be  the  most 
profitable  and  most  permanent.  One  of  the  conditions  referred  to  is  the  cost 
of  securing  land  and  bringing  it  into  cultivation,  or  if  it  be  located  in  the  dry 
belt,  it  requires  irrigation,  or  if  low-lying,  demands  extensive  draining  and 
under  draining.  In  other  words,  taken  as  a  whole,  it  is  much  more  expensive 
to  bring  land  under  proper  cultivation  in  British  Columbia  than  in  most  other 
parts  of  America,  and  therefore  not  favorable  to  land  holding  in  large  areas, 
but  once  fitted  for  cultivation,  it  becomes  by  reason  of  a  combination  of  favor- 
able circumstances,  exceedingly  productive,  and  yielding  large  dividends  upon 
the  capital  invested.  It  is  a  country  eminently  suited  to  intensive  cultivation 
of  whatever  character,  and  as  at  the  present  time  fruit  growing  and  dairying 
give  promise  of  the  greatest  returns,  particular  attention  is  being  paid  to  these 
branches  of  the  industry.  Within  the  past  ten  years  no  other  industry  of  what- 
ever character  has  made  such  rapid  and  substantial  progress  as  that  of  farm- 
ing, and  no  other  has  such  bright  prospects  of  continuous  expansion  and  en- 
during success.  It  has  not  been  usual  in  the  past  to  regard  British  Columbia 
in  the  light  of  an  agricultural  country,  and  therefore  it  has  become  better 
known  on  account  of  its  mineral,  timber  and  fishing  resources,  but  it  is  esti- 
mated that  the  value  of  farm  products  for  1905  was  six  million  dollars.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  it  compares  favorably  in  agriculture  with  other  natural 
resources.  As  an  instance  of  the  possibilities  in  this  respect,  the  census  of 
1 89 1  gives  the  extent  of  improved  land  at  considerably  less  than  half  a  million 
acres,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  much  of  that  is  only  partially  improved.  It 
would  be  safe  to  say  that  the  area  actually  under  cultivation  does  not  exceed 
two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  at  the  outside,  so  that 
the  amount  of  arable  land  in  the  whole  Province,  the  area  of  which  is  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  million  acres,  is  very  small  in  comparison ;  there  is  never- 
theless, sufficient  to  afford  room  for  an  agricultural  population  of  half  a  mil- 


294  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

lion  persons,  allowing  each  farmer,  or  head  of  a  family,  ninety  acres  each,  or 
at  the  present  rate  of  production,  capable  of  producing  one  hundred  million 
dollars  worth  of  farm  produce  annually.  It  is  impossible  at  the  present  time, 
basing  figiires  upon  official  returns,  to  give  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  areas 
of  the  various  arable  districts  of  the  Province,  but  in  a  rough  way  it  is  possible 
to  give  approximately  the  following:  The  lower  Fraser  valley  in  the  West- 
minster district,  350,000  acres;  the  southeastern  portion  of  Vancouver  Island, 
250,000;  the  north  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  300,000  acres;  Okanagan  district, 
240,000  acres ;  north  and  south  Thompson  River  valleys,  75,000  acres ;  Nicola, 
Similkameen,  and  Kettle  River  valleys,  350,000  acres;  Lillooet  and  Cariboo, 
200,000  acres ;  East  and  West  Kootenay,  1 50,000  acres ;  Canoe  River  valley, 
75,000  acres;  the  Chilcoten,  including  the  Nechaco  and  Blackwater  valleys, 
750,000  acres;  Bulkley  and  Kispyox  valleys,  200,000  acres;  Ootsa  Lake,  150,- 
•  000  acres;  Bella  Coola  and  other  Coast  districts,  150,000  acres;  New  Cale- 
donia, including  Peace  River,  5,500,000  acres;  making  a  grand  total  of  nearly 
9,000,000  acres.  This  is  an  estimate  that  cannot  be  verified  officially,  as  but 
little  is  known  as  to  the  exact  extent  of  some  of  the  valleys  enumerated,  but 
it  will  probably  be  found  to  be  not  far  wide  of  the  mark.  It  will  be  seen  that 
only  a  small  percentage  of  this  land  has  yet  been  made  available,  in  fact,  by  far 
the  largest  part  of  it  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Government  and  until  com- 
munication is  effected,  settlement  and  population  must  necessarily  be  slow.  To 
show  how  rapidly  the  agricultural  industry  is  developing,  it  may  be  stated  that 
in  1897  the  output  of  butter  from  the  creameries  did  not  exceed  75,000  pounds, 
whereas  in  1904  there  were  about  1,120,000  pounds  manufactured,  with 
fourteen  creameries  in  operation,  showing  an  increase  of  160,000  pounds 
over  the  previous  year. 

The  possibilities  of  further  development  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1904 
considerably  more  butter  was  imported  than  was  manufactured,  or  butter  to 
the  value  of  $1,180,000,  which  came  from  the  Northwest,  Oregon,  Washing- 
ton, California,  New  Zealand  and  Australia. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  295 

The  value  of  the  fruit  shipped  in  1904  was  estimated  at  $240,000,  and 

the  total  value  of  the  fruit  produced  and  marketed  exceeded  $500,000,  which 

amounts  were  largely  exceeded  in  1905,  though  returns  are  not  available  at 

the  time  of  writing.     The  area  of  land  planted  in  orchards,  according  to 

census  returns  of  1901,  was  7,430  acres,  the  estimated  value  of  the  acreage  of 

orchards  planted  in  the  three  following  years  was  6,000  acres,  so  that  at  the 

end  of  1904,  there  were  about  13,500  acres  of  orchards,  and  it  is  estimated 

that  in  1905,  taking  the  number  of  trees  planted  as  a  basis,  between  7,000  and 

10,000  acres  of  land  was  added  to  the  area  under  cultivation,  and  devoted  to 

fruit  growing. 

Conclusion. 

The  Province  of  British  Columbia,  though  it  has  material  and  the  natural 
conditions  out  of  which  to  create  great  industries,  has  not  yet  been  placed  in 
the  position  in  relation  with  the  commercial  world  to  take  advantage  of  its 
opportunities.     Development  in  that  direction  is  a  matter  of  slow  progress, 
and  follows  in  the  wake  of  trade  with  the  Orient,  via  the  Pacific  Ocean.    Re- 
moteness from  centers  of  supply,  price  of  labor,  the  relatively  high  cost  of 
transportation  as  compared  with  the  Atlantic  ports,  and,  in  particular,  with 
the  great  ports  of  Europe,  with  which  the  Pacific  Coast  must  come  into  com- 
petition when  striving  for  foreign  trade,  and  other  conditions,  all  enter  into 
the  problem  of  success,  and  have  to  be  overcome  by  degrees.     Trans-conti- 
nental railways  and  trans-Pacific  stseamship  lines  and  Pacific  cable  and  the  pro- 
posed Panama  Canal,  are  altering  the  conditions,  and  we  are  gradually  build- 
ing up  Liverpools  and  New  Yorks.     It  is,  therefore,  almost  as  certain  as  the 
sun  rises  in  the  east  and  sets  in  the  west,  that  in  time  the  center  of  commer- 
cial gravity  will  be  shifted.     We  shall  then  stand  in  the  same  relative  position 
in  regard  to  the  trade  of  the  world  as  those  world  centers,  and  in  point  of  in- 
dustry British  Columbia  will  have  exceptional  advantages  in  relation  to  the 
Orient.     The  large  industries  which  effect  the  international  situation  are  iron 
and  steel,  pulp  and  paper,  timber,  fishery  products,  preserved  and  canned  fruits 


296  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

and  vegetables,  manufactured  wcxjlens,  etc.  Respecting  all  of  these  and  others 
that  might  be  included,  no  country  is  in  a  better  natural  position  to  compete. 
It  has  not  only  geographical  advantages  by  ocean  navigation,  but  it  has  a  great 
wealth  of  natural  resouces  easily  accessible.  It  is  indeed,  in  a  much  better 
position  than  Great  Britain  ever  was,  and  the  Mother  Country  until  recently 
stood  unrivalled  in  trade  and  industry.  We  may,  therefore,  look  with  un- 
bounded confidence,  even  though  we  have  to  exercise  patience,  to  the  future, 
when  mammoth  factories  of  various  kinds  will  produce  goods  for  every  part 
of  the  globe,  to  be  conveyed  thither  by  fleets  of  steamers.  Our  ocean  ports 
will  be  the  entrepot  for  commerce  flowing  freely  to  and  fro  along  the  new  route 
between  the  Occident  and  the  Orient,  and  from  the  nether  hemisphere  of  Aus- 
tralasia to  the  northern  and  congenerous  parts  of  the  same  empire.  Progress 
towards  that  end,  as  has  already  been  remarked,  has  been  extremely  slow,  and 
those  in  the  early  days  who  dreamed  dreams  of  things  we  now  see  and  have 
more  certain  knowledge  of  their  approach,  experienced  many  disappointments. 
They  saw  truly  but  too  far  ahead  to  reap  of  the  harvest  they  had  anticipated. 
In  Hudson's  Bay  Company  days  there  was  a  considerable  trade  carried  on 
with  points  on  the  Pacific  coast  north  and  south,  with  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
China  and  Siberia,  and  of  course,  with  Great  Britain,  from  which  all  mer- 
chandise came.  The  Oregon  territory  then  produced  furs,  wheat,  lumber, 
meat  and  skins,  flour,  etc.  This  in  a  small  way  gave  promise  of  things  to 
come.  After  the  organization  of  the  colonies,  subsequent  to  the  first  gold  rush, 
there  was  little  exported  except  gold,  lumber  and  furs,  which  percolated 
through  Victoria,  principally  from  the  northern  and  interior  posts  of  the  com- 
pany. For  a  number  of  years  these  were  practically  the  only  items  of  ex- 
port. Canned  salmon  did  not  enter  the  list  until  after  1876,  while  the  exports 
of  foreign  lumber  never  materially  increased  from  the  early  days.  Practically 
everything  important  in  the  line  of  export  trade  is  modern. 

To  some  extent,  it  may  be  said  that  British  Columbia  for  years  existed  on 
prospects.     The  first  gold  rush  produced  an  excitement  and  real  estate  booms 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  297 

in  Victoria  and  New  Westminster,  followed  by  extreme  depression,  which 
was  relieved  by  the  second  rush,  the  result  of  the  Cariboo  excitement  and  dis- 
coveries. Depression  then  became  and  remained  chronic,  with  occasional 
spurts  arising  out  of  new  finds  and  rushes  here  and  there,  or  new  developments 
in  the  political  situation,  promising  union,  or  confederation,  or  the  building 
oi  the  railway.  It  was  only  after  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way became  a  certainty  and  work  actually  began,  that  the  business  of  the 
Province  revived.  Then  inflation  in  real  estate  set  in,  the  like  of  which  Brit- 
ish Columbia  never  experienced.  Business  in  every  line  revived,  and  specu- 
lation was  greatly  stimulated  by  the  prospects.  The  movement  grew  in 
strength  until  about  1890,  when  it  had  attained  its  height,  and  had  reached 
every  inhabited  part  of  the  Province.  Vancouver  City  was  the  center  of  the 
speculative  whirl,  but  Victoria,  New  Westminster  and  many  other  places 
boomed  out  of  all  proportion  to  business  actually  being  done.  Speculation 
extended  to  timber  limits,  wild  lands,  farm  lands,  to  mining  properties,  and 
even  to  the  fisheries.  After  the  climax  had  been  reached  there  was  a  very 
rapid  shrinkage  in  values,  and  in  1893,  1894  and  1895  the  after  effects  were 
very  severe.  In  1896  matters  began  to  improve  and  improvement  may  be 
said  to  have  continued  ever  since,  though  mining,  fishing  and  lumbering 
each  has  experienced  ups  and  downs  of  a  serious  character,  hard  body  blows 
from  various  quarters  and  for  various  reasons  too  long  to  explain.  At  the 
present  time,  the  opening  of  the  year  1906,  the  Province  is  in  sound  condition 
industrially  and  commercially,  and  enjoying  general  peace  and  prosperity,  with 
prospects  of  railway  construction  and  development  that  have  not  seemed  so 
assured  for  many  years.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  be  carried  on  the  whirligig 
of  fortune  through  past  vicissitudes,  and  land  in  a  position  somewhat  sim- 
ilar to  what  we  were  in  1893-6.  The  exercise  of  business  discretion  and  wis- 
dom fraught  of  experience  should  steer  us  through  the  inevitable  era  of  de- 
pression safely,  and  without  the  acute  sufferings  following  reckless  and  un- 
warranted investments  and  business  ventures.     That  period  of  reaction,  how- 


298  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

ever,  is  not  likely  to  occur  again  for  several  years,  and  until  after  the  Prov- 
ince has  made  tremendous  strides  forward  and  become  the  Mecca  of  the  multi- 
tudes who  are  now  looking  to  the  boundless  West  for  new  homes  and  new 
careers.  The  movement,  which  is  fast  gathering  force  must  exhaust  itself 
before  the  clouds  of  adversity  again  appear  on  our  horizon.  That  we  shall 
have  undue  speculation  and  inflation,  as  a  consequence  of  population  overflow- 
ing the  Rockies,  is  as  certain  as  it  is  apparently  unavoidable,  but  while  those 
periods  of  great  activity,  like  electrical  storms,  leave  many  business  wrecks 
in  their  tracks,  they  also  sow  the  seeds  of  new  industries  and  suggest  new 
possibilities.  It  will,  at  the  worst,  in  the  future  be  as  it  has  been  in  the  past. 
Each  time  when  we  sink  low  in  the  valley  of  depression  we  ascend  higher 
mountains  beyond,  until  some  day  we  shall  view  the  world  at  our  feet. 

Author's  Postscript. 

The  Author  desires  to  acknowledge  valuable  assistance  rendered  by 
E.  O.  Scholefield,  provincial  Librarian;  Captain  Walbran,  of  the  Marine  and 
Fisheries  service;  Miss  Maria  Lawson  and  Miss  Agnes  Deans  Cameron,  of 
the  staff  of  the  Victoria  public  schools;  and  Mr,  D.  W.  Higgins,  late  speaker 
of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  all  of  whom  contributed  materially  to  the 
information  contained  in  the  foregoing  pages. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


299 


APPENDICES. 


GOVERNORS  AND  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS. 


GOVERNORS  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND. 

From 

Richard  Blanshard ..;...    1849 

Sir  James  Douglas,  K.  C.  B. . Nov.,  1851 

Arthur  Edward  Kennedy .Oct.,  1864 

GOVERNORS  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA. 

From 

Sir.  James  Douglas Sept.,  1858 

Frederick  Seymour Apl.,  1864 

Anthony  Musgrave,  K.  C.  M.  G. Aug.,  1869 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS    SINCE    CONFEDERATION. 

From 

Sir  J.  W.  Trutch,  K.  C.  M.  G July  5,  1871 

Hon.  A.  N.  Richards .June  27,   1876 

C.  F.  Cornwall  June  21,  1881 

Hugh  Nelson Feby.  8,  1887 

Hon.  Edgar  Dewdney Nov.   i,   1892 

T.  R.  Mclnnes .Nov.  18,   1897 

Sir  Henri  Gustave  Joly  de  Lotbiniere .  .  . .  June  21,   1900 

LIST    OF    SPEAKERS. 

From 

Hon.  J.  S.  Helmcken 1856 

Hon.  James  Trimble 1872 

Hon.  F.  W.  Williams 1878 

Hon.  J.  A.  Mara .  1883 

Hon.  C.  E.  Pooley 1887 

Hon.  D.  W.  Higgins  (resigned  March  4,  1898) 1890 

Hon.  J.  P.  Booth  1898 

Hon.  Thos.  Forster 1899 

Hon.  J.  P.  Booth  (died  March,  1902) 1900 

Hon.  C.  E.  Pooley 1902 


To 

Nov., 

185 1 

Mar., 

1864 

Union, 

1866 

To 

Apl, 

1864 

June, 

1869 

July, 

1 87 1 

To 

July, 

1876 

July, 

1881 

Feby., 

1887 

July; 

1892 

Nov., 

1897 

June, 

1900 

To 

1 87 1 

1878 

1882 

1886 

1889 

1898 

1898 

1900 

1902 

1905 

3(.»0  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

COLONIAL  LEGISLATURES  AND  EXECUTIVE  COUNCILS. 

Legislative  Assembly,  Vancouver  Island,  First  Parliament,  1855  to 
1859:  Victoria  town,  James  Yates  and  Jos.  W.  McKay;  Esquimalt  and 
Victoria  Districts,  J.  S.  Helmcken  (i)  and  J.  D.  Pemberton;  Esquimalt 
town,  Thomas  J.  Skinner ;  Sooke  District,  John  Muir. 

( I )     Speaker. 

Legislative  Assembly,  Vancouver  Island,  Second  Parliament,  March, 
i860  to  February,  1863  :  Victoria  town — First  session,  March,  i860,  to  Feb- 
ruary, 1861,  J.  H.  Cary,  S.  Franklin;  second  session,  June,  1861,  to  January, 
1862,  J.  H.  Cary,  S.  Franklin;  third  session,   March,    1862,  to  December, 

1862,  J.  H.  Cary,  S.  Franklin;  fourth  session,  January,  1863,  to  February, 

1863,  J.  H.  Cary,  S.  Franklin.  Victoria  District — First  session,  March,  i860, 
to  February,  1861,  H.  P.  P.  Crease,  W.  F.  Tolmie,  A.  Waddington;  second 
session,  June,  1861,  to  January,  1862,  H.  P.  P.  Crease  (i),  W.  F.  Tolmie, 
A.  Waddington  (2),  J.  W.  Trutch  (vice  Crease),  J.  Trimble  (vice  Wad- 
dington) ;  third  session,  March,  1862,  to  December,  1862,  W.  F.  Tolmie, 
J.  W.  Trutch,  J.  Trimble;  fourth  session,  January,  1863,  to  February,  1863, 
W.  F.  Tolmie,  J.  W.  Trutch,  J.  Trimble.  Esquimalt  town — First  session, 
March,  i860,  to  February,  1861,  G.  T.  Gordon,;  second  session,  June,  1861, 
to  January,  1862,  G.  T.  Gordon  (3)  ;  third  session,  March,  1862,  to  De- 
cember, 1862,  T.  Harris  (4),  Wm.  Cocker  (vice  Harris);  fourth  session, 
January,  1863,  to  February,  1863,  Wm.  Cocker.  Esquimalt  District — First 
session,  March,  i860,  to  February,  1861,  J.  S.  Helmcken,  James  Cooper  (5), 
R.  Burnaby  (vice  Cooper)  ;  second  session,  June  1861,  to  January,  1862,  J. 
S.  Helmcken,  Robert  Burnaby;  third  session,  March,  1862,  to  December, 
1862,  J.  S.  Helmcken,  R.  Burnaby;  fourth  session,  January,  1863,  to  Feb- 
ruary, 1863,  J.  S.  Helmcken  (6),  R.  Burnaby.  Lake  District — First  ses- 
sion, March,  i860,  to  February,  1861,  G.  F.  Foster;  second  session,  June, 
1861,  to  January,    1862,  G.   F.  Foster;  third  session,   March,   1862    to  De- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  '  301 

cember,  1862,  G.  F.  Foster;  fourth  session,  Jantferlt  1863,  to  February, 
1863,  G.  F.  Foster.  Sooke  District — First  session,  March,  i860,  to  Feb- 
ruary, 1861,  W.  J.  Macdonald;  second  session,  June,  1861,  to  January,  1862, 
W.  J.  Macdonald;  third  session,  March,  1862,  to  December,  1862,  W.  J. 
Macdonald;  fourth  session,  January,  1863,  to  February,  1863,  W.  J.  Mac- 
donald. Saanich  District — First  session,  March,  i860,  to  February,  1861, 
John  Coles;  second  session,  June,  1861,  to  January,  1862,  John  Coles;  third" 
session,  March,  1862,  to  December,  1862,  John  Coles;  fourth  session,  Janu- 
ary, 1863,  to  February,  1863,  John  Coles.  Salt  Spring  District — First  ses- 
sion, March,  i860,  to  February,  1861,  J.  J.  Southgate;  second  session,  June, 
1861,  to  January,  1862,  J.  J.  Southgate;  third  session,  March,  1862,  to  De- 
cember, 1862,  J.  J.  Southgate;  fourth  session,  January,  1863,  to  February, 
1863,  J.  J.  Southgate.  Nanaimo  District — First  session,  March,  i860,  to 
February,  1861,  A.  R.  Green;  second  session,  June  1861,  to  January,  1862, 
A.  R.  Green  (7),  D.  B.  Ring  (vice  Green);  third  session,  March,  1862,  to 
December,  1862,  D.  B.  Ring;  fourth  session,  January,  1863,  to  February, 
1863,  D.  B.  Ring. 

(i)  Resigned  October,   1861. 

(2)  Resigned  October,   1861. 

(3)  Resigned  January,  1862. 

(4)  Resigned  September,    1862. 

(5)  Resigned  November,    i860. 

(6)  Speaker. 

(7)  Resigned  October,  1861. 

Executive  Council  of  Vancouver  Island,  September,  1863,  to  Septem- 
ber 1866:  Hon.  William  A.  G.  Young,  acting  Colonial  Secretary,  from 
September,  1863,  to  August,  1864  (i)  ;  Hon.  George  Hunter  Gary,  Attorney 
General,  from  September,  1863.  to  August,  1864  (2)  ;  Hon.  Alexander  Wat- 
son, Treasurer,  from  September,  1863,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  Joseph  D. 
Pemberton,  Surveyor-General,  from  September,  1863,  to  October,  1864  (3)  ; 
Hon.  Henry  Wakeford,  acting  Colonial  Secretary,  from  August,  1864,  to 
June,   1865   (4)  ;  Hon.  Thomas  Lett  Wood,  acting  Attorney-General,  from 


302  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

August,  1864,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  B.  W.  Pearse,  acting  Surveyor- 
General,  from  October,  1864,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  W.  A.  G.  Young, 
Colonial  Secretary,  from  June,  1865,  to  September,  1866. 

(i)  Leave  of  absence. 

(2)  Resigned. 

(3)  Resigned. 

(4)  Superseded  by  Colonial  Secretary. 

Legislative  Assembly,  Vancouver  Island,  Third  Parliament,  September, 

1863,  to  August,  1866:     Victoria  City — First  session,  September,   1863,  to 
July,  1864;  W.  A.  G.  Young,  A.  DeCosmos,  L  W.  Powell,  J.  C.  Ridge  (i), 
S.  Franklin  (vice  Ridge)  ;  second  session,  September,   1864,  to  July,   1865, 
A.  DeCosmos   (2),  L  W.  Powell,  S.  Franklin,  C.  B.  Young  (3),  A.  De- 
Cosmos   (re-elected),  L.  McClure   (vice  C.  B.   Young);  third  session,  No- 
vember, 1865,  to  August,  1866,  L  W.  Powell,  S.  Franklin  (4),  A.  DeCos- 
mos, L.  McClure,  C.  B.  Young   (vice  Franklin.)     Victoria  District — First 
session,  September,  1863,  to  July,   1864,  E.  H.  Jackson,  W.  F.  Tolmie,  J 
Trimble;  second  session,  September,  1864,  to  July,  1865,  W.  F.  Tolmie,  J 
Trimble,  James  Dickson;  third  session,  November,   1865,  to  August,   1866, 
W;  F.  Tolmie,  J.  Trimble,  James  Dickson.     Esquimalt  town — First  session 
September,   1863,  to  July,   1864,  G.  F.  Foster;  second  session,   September 

1864,  to  July,  1865,  J.  J.  Southgate;  third  session,  November,  1865,  to 
August,  1866,  J.  J.  Southgate  (5),  E.  Stamp  (vice  Southgate).  Esqui- 
malt District — First  session,  September,  1863,  to  July,  1864,  J.  S.  Helmcken 
(6),  R.  Burnaby;  second  session,  September,  1864,  to  July,  1865,  J.  S, 
Helmcken,  R.  Burnaby;  third  session,  November,  1865,  to  August,  1866,  J. 
S.  Helmcken,  John  Ash.  Lake  District — First  session,  September,  1863, 
to  July,  1864,  J.  Duncan;  second  session,  September,  1864,  to  July,  1865, 
J.  Duncan;  third  session,  November,  1865,  to  August,  1866,  J.  Duncan. 
Sooke  District — First  session,  September,  1863,  to  July,  1864,  J.  Carswell; 
second  session,  September,   1864,  to  July,   1865,  J.  Carswell;  third  session. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  303 

November,  1865,  to  August,  1866,  J.  Carsweil.  Saanich  District — First 
session,  September,  1863,  to  July,  1864,  C,  Street;  second  session,  Septem- 
ber, 1864,  to  July,  1865,  (7)  C.  Street,  J.  J.  Cochrane  (vice  Street) ;  third 
session,  November,  1865.  to  August,  1866,  J.  J.  Cochrane.  Salt  Spring 
District — First  session,  September,  1863,  to  July,  1864,  John  T.  Pidwell 
(8),  George  E.  Beans  (vice  Pidwell);  second  session,  September,  1864,  to 
July,  1865,  G.  E.  Deans;  third  session,  November,  1865,  to  August,  1866, 
G.  E.  Deans  (9),  J.  T.  Pidwell  (vice  Deans.)  Nanaimo  District — First 
session,  September,  1863,  to  July,  1864,  A.  Bayley;  second  session,  Septem- 
ber, 1864,  to  July,  1865,  A.  Bayley;  third  session,  November,  1865,  to 
August,  1866,  T.  Cunningham. 


(I 
(2 
(3 
(4 
(5 
(6 
(7 
(8 
(9 


Resigned  January,   1864. 

Resigned  February,  1865. 

Resigned  February,   1865. 

Seat  declared  vacant  April,   1866. 

Seat  declared  vacant  April,   1866. 

Speaker. 

Resigned  October,  1864. 

Unseated  on  petition. 

Unseated  on  petition. 


Legislative  Council  of  Vancouver  Island,  September,  1863,  to  Septem- 
ber, 1866:  Hon.  David  Cameron,  Chief  Justice,  from  September,  1863, 
to  November,  1865  (i);  Hon.  D.  B.  Ring,  acting  Attorney-General,  from 
September,  1863,  to  October,  1863  (2)  ;  Hon.  Alexander  Watson,  Treasurer, 
from  September,  1863,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  Roderick  Finlayson, 
Member  of  Council,  from  September,  1863,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  Al- 
fred J.  Langley,  Member  of  Council,  from  September,  1863,  to  January, 
1864  (3) ;  Hon,  B.  W.  Pearse,  acting  Surveyor-General,  from  October, 
1863,  to  April,  1864  (4)  ;  Hon,  George  H.  Gary,  Attorney-General,  from 
October,  1863,  to  August,  1864  (5)  ;  Hon.  Joseph  D,  Pemberton,  Surveyor- 
General,  from  April,  1864,  to  October,  1864  (6) ;  Hon.  Donald  Eraser, 
Member  of  Council,  from  April,    1864,  to  September,    1866;  Hon.   Henry 


304  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

VVakeford,  acting  Colonial  Secretary,  from  August,  1864,  to  June,  1865  (7)  '. 
Hon.  Henry  Rhodes,  Member  of  Council,  from  August,  1864,  to  September, 
1866;  Hon.  Thomas  Lett  Wood,  acting  Attorney-General,  from  August, 
1864,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  B.  W.  Pearse,  acting  Surveyor-General, 
from  October,  1864,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  W.  A.  G.  Young,  Colonial 
Secretary,  from  July,  1865,  to  September,  1866;  Hon.  Joseph  Needham, 
Chief  Justice,  from  November,  1865,  to  September,  1866  (8). 

(i)  President.     Resigned. 

(2)  Superseded  by  Attorney-General. 

(3)  Mr.  Langley's  name  does  not  appear  on  minutes  of  Council  after 
this  date. 

.(4)  Superseded  by  Surveyor-General. 

(5)  Resigned. 

(6)  Resigned. 

(7)  Superseded  by  Colonial  Secretary. 

(8)  President. 

Legislative  Council,  1864  to  July  19th,  1871 :  Session  1864 — The  Hon. 
Arthur  N.  Birch,  Colonial  Secretary;  Hon.  Henry  P.  P.  Crease,  Attorney- 
General;  Hon.  Wymond  O.  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs;  Hon.  Chartres 
Brew,  Magistrate,  New  Westminster;  Hon,  Peter  O'Reilly,  Magistrate, 
Cariboo  East;  Hon.  E.  H.  Sanders,  Magistrate,  Yale;  Hon.  H.  M.  Ball, 
Magistrate,  Lytton;  Hon.  J.  A.  R.  Homer,  New  Westminster;  Hon.  Robert 
T.  Smith,  Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton;  Hon.  Henry  Holbrook,  Douglas  and 
Lillooet;  Hon.  James  Orr,  Cariboo  East;  Hon.  Walter  S.  Black,  Cariboo 
West. 

Session  1864  to  1865 — Hon.  Arthur  N.  Birch,  Colonial  Secretary  and 
Presiding  Member;  Hon.  Henry  P.  P.  Crease,  Attorney-General;  Hon. 
Charles  W.  Franks,  Treasurer;  Hon.  Wymond  O.  Hamley,  Collector  of 
Customs;  Hon.  Chartres  Brew,  Magistrate,  New  Westminster;  Hon.  Peter 
O'Reilly,  Magistrate,  Cariboo;  Hon.  H.  M.  Ball,  Magistrate,  Lytton;  Hon. 
A.  C.  Elliot,  Magistrate,  Lillooet ;  Hon.  John  C.  Haynes^  Magistrate,  Osoyoos 
and  Kootenay;  Hon.  J.  A.   R.  Homer,    New    Westminster    district;    Hon. 


U  iM  V.  0  1 
I  \  I  r  (i  k  t; 


f'   .VI  I, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  305 

Henry  Holbrook,  Douglas  and  Lillooet  districts ;  Hon.  Clement  F.  Cornwall, 
Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton  districts;  Hon.  George  Anthony  Walkem,  Cariboo 
East  district;  Hon.  Walter  Moberly.  Cariboo  West  district. 

Session,  1866 — Hon.  Henry  M.  Ball,  acting  Colonial  Secretary,  and 
Presiding  Member;  Hon.  Henry  P.  P.  Crease,  Attorney-General;  Hon. 
Charles  W.  Franks,  Treasurer;  Hon.  Joseph  W.  Trutch,  Chief  Commission- 
er of  Lands  and  Works;  Hon.  Wymond  O.  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs; 
Hon.  Chartres  Brew,  Magistrate,  New  Westminster;  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly, 
Magistrate,  Kootenay;  Hon.  Andrew  C.  Elliot,  Magistrate,  Lillooet;  Hon. 
John  C.  Haynes,  Magistrate,  Osoyoos  and  Kootenay;  Hon.  J.  A.  R.  Homer, 
New  Westminster  district;  Hon.  Henry  Holbrook,  Douglas  and  Lillooet  dis- 
tricts; Hon.  Clement  F.  Cornwall,  Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton  districts;  Hon. 
George  Anthony  Walkem,  Cariboo  East  district;  Hon.  Robert  Smith,  Cari- 
boo West  district. 

Session  1867^ — First  session  after  union  with  Vancouver  Island.  Hon. 
Arthur  N.  Birch,  Colonial  Secretary  and  Presiding  Member;  Hon.  Henry 
P.  P.  Crease,  Attorney-General;  Hon.  William  A.  G.  Young,  acting  during 
session  as  Treasurer;  Hon.  Joseph  W.  Trutch,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands 
and  Works ;  Hon.  Wymond  O.  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs ;  Hon.  Thomas 
Lett  Wood,  acting  during  session  as  Solicitor-General ;  Hon.  Henry  M.  Ball, 
Magistrate,  Cariboo  West;  Hon.  Chartres  Brew,  Magistrate,  New  West- 
minster; Hon.-  George  W.  Cox,  Magistrate,  Cariboo  E^st;  Hon.  William 
PI.  Franklyn,  Magistrate,  Nanaimo;  Hon.  William  J.  Macdonald,  Magis- 
trate, Victoria;  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly,  Magistrate,  Kootenay;  Hon.  Edward 
H.  Sanders,  Magistrate,  Yale  and  Lytton;  Hon.  Amor  DeCosmos,  Victoria; 
Hon.  J.  S.  Helmcken,  Victoria;  Hon.  Joseph  D.  Pemberton,  Victoria  dis- 
trict; Hon.  John  Robson,  New  Westminster;  Hon.  Robert  T.  Smith,  Colum- 
bia River  and  Kootenay ;  Hon.  Joseph  J.  Southgate,  Nanaimo ;  Hon.  Edward 
Stamp,  Lillooet;  Hon.  Geo.  A.  Walkem,  Cariboo;  Hon.  Francis  J.  Barnard,. 
Yale  and  Lytton. 


306  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Session  1868 — The  Hon.  W.  A.  G.  Young,  acting  Colonial  Secretary 
and  Presiding  Member;  Hon.  Henry  P.  Pellew  Crease,  Attorney-General; 
Hon.   Robert   Ker,   acting  during  session  as  Treasurer;   Hon.   Joseph   W. 
Trutch,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works;  Hon.  Wymond  O.  Ham- 
ley,  Collector  of  Customs;  Hon.  Henry  M.  Ball,  Magistrate,   New  West- 
minster; Hon.  George  W.  Cox,  Magistrate,  Columbia  and  Kootenay;  Hon. 
Thomas  Elwyn,  acting  during  session  as  Magistrate  for  Cariboo;  Hon.  Wm. 
J.  Macdonald,  Magistrate,  Victoria;  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly,  Magistrate,  Yale 
and    Lytton;    Hon,    Warner    R.    Spalding,    Magistrate,     Nanaimo;     Hon. 
Thomas  Lett  Wood,  Magistrate,  Victoria;  Hon.  Amor  DeCosmos,  Victoria; 
Hon.  John   S.   Helmcken,   Victoria;   Hon,   Joseph   D.    Pemberton,   Victoria 
district;   Hon.   John  Robson,   New   Westminster;   Hon,   Robert  T.    Smith, 
Columbia  and  Kootenay;  Hon.  Edward    Stamp,    Lillooet;    Hon.    Geo.  A. 
Walkem,  Cariboo;  Hon,  Francis  Jones  Barnard,  Yale  and  Lytton, 

Session  1868-69 — The  Hon,  W.  A.  G.  Young,  acting  Colonial  Secre- 
tary and  Presiding  Member;  Hon,  Henry  P,  Pellew  Crease,  Attorney-Gen- 
eral ;  Hon.  Joseph  W.  Trutch,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works ; 
Hon.  Wymond  O.  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs;  Hon,  Arthur  T,  Bushby, 
acting  Postmaster-General;  Hon,  Edward  G.  Alston,  J.  P, ;  Hon.  Henry  M. 
Ball,  J.  P. ;  Hon,  Henry  Holbrook,  J.  P, ;  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly,  J.  P. ;  Hon. 
A,  F,  Pemberton,  J.  P.;  Hon,  Edward  H,  Sanders,  J.  P, ;  Hon,  George 
Anthony  Walkem,  J,  P, ;  Hon,  Thomas  Lett  Wood,  J,  P, ;  Hon,  Robert  W. 
W.  Carrall,  Cariboo;  Hon,  John  C,  Davie,  Victoria  district;  Hon,  M,  W.  T, 
Drake,  Victoria  City;  Hon,  Henry  Havelock,  Yale;  Hon,  John  S.  Helmcken, 
Victoria  City;  Hon,  Thomas  B,  Humphreys,  Lillooet;  Hon.  David  B.  Ring, 
Nanaimo ;  Hon,  John  Robson,  New  Westminster, 

Session  1870 — The  Hon,  Philip  J,  Hankin,  Colonial  Secretary  and 
Presiding  Member;  Hon,  Henry  P.  Pellew  Crease,  Attorney-General;  Hon, 
Joseph  Wm.  Trutch,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works;  Hon. 
Wymond  O,  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs;  Hon.  Arthur  T.  Bushby,  acting 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  307 

Postmaster-General ;  Hon.  Edward  G.  Alston,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Henry  M.  Ball, 
J.  P. ;  Hon.  Henry  Holbrook,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Peter  O'Reilly,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Au- 
gustus F.  Pemberton,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Edward  H.  Sanders,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  George  A. 
Walkem,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Thomas  Lett  Wood,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Francis  Jones  Bar- 
nard, Yale ;  Hon.  Robert  W.  W.  Carrall,  Cariboo ;  Hon.  Amor  DeCosmos, 
Victoria  district;  Hon.  Edgar  Dewdney,  Kootenay  district;  Hon.  M.  W.  T. 
Drake,  Victoria  City;  Hon.  John  Sebastian  Helmcken,  Victoria  City;  Hon. 
Thomas  B.  Humphreys,  Lillooet;  Hon.  David  B.  Ring,  Nanaimo;  Hon.  John 
Robson,  New  Westminster. 

Session  187 1 — The  Hon.  Philip  J.  Hankin,  Colonial  Secretary  (Speak- 
er) ;  Hon.  George  Philippo,  Attorney-General ;  Hon.  Joseph  W.  Trutch 
(i).  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works;  Hon.  Wymond  O.  Hamley, 
Collector  of  Customs ;  Hon.  Augustus  F.  Pemberton,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Edward 
G.  Alston,  J.  P. ;  Hon.  Henry  Nathan,  Victoria  City ;  Hon.  John  S.  Helm- 
cken, Victoria  City;  Hon.  Amor  DeCosmos,  Victoria  district;  Hon.  Arthur 
Bunster,  Nanaimo;  Hon.  Hugh  Nelson,  New  Westminster;  Hon,  Clement 
F.  Cornwall,  Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton ;  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Humphreys,  Lillooet 
and  Clinton;  Hon.  Robert  W.  W.  Carrall,  Cariboo;  Hon.  Robert  J.  Skinner, 
Kootenay. 

(i)  On  February  14th,  1871,  the  Hon.  P.  O'Reilly  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Council,  vice  the  Hon,  J.  W,  Trutch,  absent  from 
the  Colony 

PROVINCIAL  ADMINISTRATIONS, 

THE    MC  CREIGHT    MINISTRY. 

Hon.  J.  F.  McCreight,  Q.  C,  Premier  and  Attorney-General  from 
December  1871,  to  December  23,    1872. 

Hon.  A.  R.  Robertson,  Q.  C,  Provincial  Secretary  from  January,  1872, 
to  December,   1872. 

Hon.   Henry  Holbrook,  Lands  and  Works,  from  November,   187 1,  to 


308  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

January  15,  1872,  and  President  of  Council  from  January  15  to  December 
20,   1872. 

Hon.  George  A.  Walkem,  Q.  C,  Lands  and  Works,  from  January  12  to 
December  20,  1872. 

This  Ministry  resigned  on  December  23,  1872. 

THE   DE    COSMOS-WALKEM    MINISTRY. 

Hon.  Amor  De  Cosmos,  Premier  and  President  of  Council,  December  23, 
1872,  to  February  11,  1874.     (Resigned.) 

Hon.  G.  A.  Walkem,  Q.  C,  Attorney-General  from  December  23,  1872, 
to  February  11,  1874,  and  Premier  from  February  11,  1874,  to  January  2^, 
1876. 

Hon.  Robert  Beaven,  Lands  and  Works,  from  December  23,  1872,  to 
January  27,   1876. 

Hon.  Dr.  John  Ashe,  Provincial  Secretary,  from  December  23,  1872, 
to  January  27,  1876. 

Hon.  W.  J.  Armstrong,  Member  of  the  Cabinet,  without  portfolio, 
from  December  23,  1872,  to  February  23,  1873,  ^^^  Finance  and  Agriculture, 
from  February  28,  1873,  to  January  27,   1876.- 

Ministry  resigned  January  2y,   1876. 

THE    ELLIOT    MINISTRY. 

Hon.  A.  C.  Elliot,  Premier,  Attorney-General  and  Provincial  Secretary, 
from  February  i,  1876,  to  June  25,  1878. 

Hon.  Forbes  G.  Vernon,  Lands  and  Works,  from  February  i,  1876,  to 
June  25,  1878. 

Hon.  T.  B.  Humphreys,  Finance  and  Agriculture,  from  February  i,  1876, 
to  September  11,  1876.      (Resigned.) 

Hon.  William  Smithe,  Finance  and  Agriculture,  from  August  10,  1876, 
to  June,    1878. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  309 

Hon.  E.  B.  Davie,  Provincial  Secretary,  from  May,  1877,  to  August. 
1877. 

Ministry  resigned  June,   1878. 

THE  W^ALKEM    MINISTRY. 

Hon.  J.  Walkem,  Premier,  Attorney-General,  Lands  and  Works,  and 
President  of  the  Council,  from  June  26,  1878,  to  June  12,  1882.  (Appointed 
Judge.) 

Hon.  T.  B.  Humphreys,  Provincial  Secretary  and  Minister  of  Mines,  from 
June  26,  1876,  to  June  13,  1882.     (Resigned.) 

Hon.  Robert  Beaven,  Finance,  from  June  26,   1876,  to  June  13,  1882. 

THE    BEAVEN    MINISTRY. 

The  Ministry  in  power  from  the  dissolution  of  the  third  Parliament  to 
January,  1883,  was  as  follows : 

Hon.  Robert  Beaven,  Premier,  Lands  and  Works,  Finance,  Agriculture, 
and  President  of  Council,  from  June  13,  1882,  to  January  30,  1883. 

Hon.  T.  B.  Humphreys,  Provincial  Secretary  and  Minister  of  Mines,, 
from  June  13,  1882,  to  August  23,  1882.     (Resigned.) 

Hon.  J.  R.  Hett,  Attorney-General,  from  June  13,  1882,  to  January  30. 
1883. 

Hon.  W.  J.  Armstrong,  Provincial  Secretary,  from  August  23,  1882,  to 
January  30,   1883. 

THE  SMITHE   MINISTRY. 

Hon.  William  Smithe,  Premier,  Lands  and  Works,  from  January  29, 
1883,  to  March  29,  1887. 

Hon.  A.  B.  Davie,  Attorney-General,  from  January  29,   1883. 

Hon.  John  Robson,  Provincial  Secretary,  Finance  and  Agriculture,  from 
January  29,  1883. 

Hon.  M.  W.  T.  Drake,  Q.  C,  President  of  Council,  from  January  29, 
1883,  to  December  8,  1884.     (Resigned.) 

Hon.  Simeon  Duck,  Finance  and  Agriculture,  from  March  21,  1885. 


310  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

THE  DAVIE  MINISTRY. 

Hon.  A.  E.  B.  Davie,  Premier  and  Attorney-General,  from  April,  1887, 
to  August,  1889.     (Died  August,  1889.) 

Hon.  John  Robson,  Provincial  Secretary,  Finance  and  Minister  of  Ag- 
riculture, to  July,  1887. 

Hon.  F.  G.  Vernon,  Lands  and  Works,  from  April  i,  1887. 

Hon.  Robert  Dunsmuir,  President  of  Council  to  August  8,  1887.  (De- 
ceased.) 

Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  Finance  and  Agriculture,  from  August,  1887. 

THE  ROBSON  MINISTRY. 

Hon.  John  Robson,  Premier,  Provincial  Secretary  and  Minister  of 
Mines,  August  3,  1889,  to  June,  1892. 

Hon.  F.  G.  Vernon,  Lands  and  Works,  August  3,  1889,  to  June,  1892. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  Finance  and  Agriculture,  August  3,  1889,  to  June, 
1892. 

Hon.  Theodore  Davie,  Q.  C,  Attorney-General,  August  3,  1889,  to 
June,  1892. 

Hon.  C.  E.  Pooley,  Q.  C,  President  of  Council,  August  3,  1889,  to  June, 
1892. 

Ministry  dissolved  June,  1892,  by  death  of  Premier. 

THE  DAVIE  MINISTRY. 

Hon.  Theodore  Davie,  Premier,  Attorney-General  and  Provincial  Sec- 
retary, July  2,  1892,  to  March,  1895. 

Hon.  F.  G.  Vernon,  Mines  and  Agriculture,  July  2,  1892,  to  March  4, 

1895- 

Hon.  Lieut.-Col.  James  Baker,  Education  and  Immigration,  May  28, 
Provincial  Secretary,  September  8,  1892,  to  March  4,  1895. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  311 

Hon.  C.  E.  Pooley,  Q.  C,  President  of  Council,  July  2,  1892,  to  March 
4,  1895. 

Ministry  resigned  March,  1895. 

THE  TURNER    MINISTRY. 

March  4,  1895 — August  8,  1898. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  Premier,  Finance  and  Agriculture. 
Hon.  C.  E.  Pooley,  Q.  C,  President  of  Council. 

Hon.  Colonel  Baker,  Provincial  Secretary,  Minister  of  Mines,  Education 
and  Immigration. 

Hon.  G.  B.  Martin,  Lands  and  Works. 

Hon.  D.  M.  Eberts,  Q.  C,  Attorney-General. 

Ministry  dismissed  August  8,  1898. 

THE  SEMLIN   MINISTRY. 

August  12,  1898 — February  27,  1900. 

Hon.  C.  A.  Semlin,  Premier  and  Minister  of  Public  Works  and  Agri- 
culture. 

Hon.  Joseph  Martin,  Attorney-General  and  Acting  Minister  of  Education. 

Hon.  F,  L.  Carter-Cotton,  Finance  Minister. 

Hon.  J.  Fred  Hume,  Provincial  Secretary  and  Minister  of  Mines. 

Hon.  R.  McKechnie,  President  of  the  Executive  Council,  without  port- 
folio. 

On  March  10,  1899,  changes  were  made  in  the  distribution  of  portfolios. 
Mr.  Semlin  retired  from  the  Chief  Commissionership  of  Lands  and  Works 
and  undertook  the  duties  of  the  Provincial  Secretaryship,  Mr.  Hume  resign- 
ing that,  but  continuing  to  be  Minister  of  Mines,  while  Mr.  Carter-Cotton 
became  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works  in  addition  to  his  office  as 
Minister  of  Finance  and  Agriculture.  Mr.  Martin  continued  to  hold  the 
Attorney-Generalship  and  Dr.  McKechnie  the  Presidency  of  the  Council. 


312  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

On  July  27,  at  the  request  of  the  Premier,  Mr.  Martin  resigned  and  was 
succeeded  August  7,  1899,  by  Mr.  Alex.  Henderson.  On  February  27,  1900, 
Lieutenant-Governor  Mclnnes  dismissed  the  Ministry  and  called  on  Mr. 
Joseph  Martin  to  form  a  Government. 

THE  MARTIN  MINISTRY. 

March  i,  1900 — ^June  14,  1900.     ' 

Hon.  Joseph  Martin,  Premier  and  Attorney-General. 

Hon.  C.  S.  Ryder,  Minister  of  Finance. 

Hon.  Smith  Curtis,  Minister  of  Mines. 

Hon.  J.  Stuart  Yates,  Chief  Commissioner  Lands  and  Works. 

Hon.  George  W.  Beebe,  Provincial  Secretary. 

In  April,  1900,  Mr.  Ryder  retired  and  Mr.  J.  C.  Brown  became  Minister 
of  Finance.  Mr.  Martin  appealed  to  the  country,  and,  in  consequence  of  the 
elections,  resigned  office  June  14,  1900.  Mr.  Dunsmuir  was  called  on  to 
form  a  cabinet.  Another  result  of  the  elections  was  the  dismissal  from 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Mclnnes,  June  21,   1900. 

THE    DUNSMUIR    MINISTRY. 

June  15,  1900 — ^November,  1902. 

Hon.  James  Dunsmuir,  Premier  and  President  of  the  Council. 

Hon.  D.  McE.  Eberts,  Attorney-General. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agriculture. 

Hon.  Richard  McBride,  Minister  of  Mines. 

Hon.  W.  C.  Wells,  Chief  Commissioner  Lands  and  Works. 

Hon.  J.  D.  Prentice,  Provincial  Secretary  and  Minister  of  Education. 

The  Premier  and  Messrs.  Eberts  and  Turner  were  sworn  in  June  15, 
but  Messrs.  Wells,  McBride  and  Prentice  not  till  June  21.  Mr.  Turner  re- 
signed September  3,  1901,  to  accept  position  as  Agent-General  in  London. 
Mr.  Prentice  became  Finance  Minister  and  Mr.  J.  C.  Brown,  M.  L.  A.,  was 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  313 

sworn  in  September  3,  1901,  as  Provincial  Secretary.  Mr.  McBride  resigned 
from  the  Cabinet  in  consequence  of  the  calHng  in  of  Mr.  Brown.  On  going 
back  for  re-election,  Mr.  Brown  was  defeated  and  resigned  his  portfolio. 
Mr.  McBride's  place  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Hon.  E.  G.  Prior, 
February  26,  1902. 

Mr.  Dunsmuir  resigned  November  21,  1902,  and  Mr.  Prior  was  called 
on  to  form  a  Government. 

THE    PRIOR    MINISTRY. 

November  21,   1902 — June  i,   1903. 

Hon.  Edward  G.  Prior,  Premier  and  Minister  of  Mines. 

Hon.  D.  McE.  Eberts,  Attorney-General. 

Hon.  James  D.  Prentice,  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agriculture. 

Hon.  Denis  Murphy,  Provincial  Secretary. 

Hon.  W.  C.  Wells,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works. 

Hon.  W.  W.  B.  Mclnnes,  President  of  the  Council. 

Messrs.  Wells  and  Murphy  were  appointed  November  22,  and  Messrs. 
Eberts  and  Mclnnes,  November  25.  Mr.  Murphy  relinquished  office  within 
a  few  days,  and  Mr.  Mclnnes  was  appointed  Provincial  Secretary  and  Min- 
ister in  Charge  of  Education,  December  i,  1902,  having  been  President  of 
the  Council  for  one  week. 

On  May  26,  1903,  it  was  announced  that  Premier  Prior  had  requested 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Eberts  and  Mr.  Wells.  On  May  27  Mr.  Mclnnes 
resigned,  in  order,  he  explained,  to  facilitate  an  appeal  to  the  country  on 
party  lines.  The  House  re-assembled,  after  an  adjournment  of  some  weeks, 
May  27.  The  adjournment  took  place  in  order  to  afford  a  special  committee 
opportunity  to  take  evidence  in  regard  to  the  Columbia  and  Western  railway 
land  grants,  and  the  position  of  officials  of  the  C.  P.  R.  in  that  affair.  When 
the  House  re-assembled,  Premier  Prior  stated  that  he  had  formed  the  opinion 
that  it  was  impossible  for  the  Government  to  be  carried  on  effectively  with 


314  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

acute  differences  of  opinion  existing  between  its  members.  He  had  ac- 
quainted the  Lieutenant-Governor  with  the  situation,  and  had  been  promised' 
a  dissolution  as  soon  as  the  supplies  had  been  voted.  Subsequently  the  Pre- 
mier moved  the  adjournment  of  House,  and  the  motion  was  voted  down  by 
17  to  14.  A'fter  discussion,  a  motion,  by  the  Opposition,  to  adjourn  was 
also  voted  down,  and  subsequently  a  motion  to  adjourn,  made  by  the  Premier, 
was  agreed  to.  On  May  28,  Colonel  Prior  asked  the  House  to  vote  the 
supplies  necessary  until  the  new  House  was  elected.  This  request  was  re- 
fused by  a  vote  of  19  to  16.  Mr.  Curtis  moved  for  a  committee  to  investi- 
gate a. newspaper  charge  that  Colonel  Prior  had  improperly  secured  a  con- 
tract to  his  firm  from  a  department  of  which  he  was  at  the  time  Acting  Min- 
ister. He  concurred  in  Mr.  Curtis'  motion.  On  the  committee  reporting 
the  evidence,  Col.  Prior  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  indiscreet,  but  denied 
that  he  had  been  dishonest. 

On  June  i,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  dismissed  the  Prior  Ministry  and 
called  on  the  Hon.  Richard  McBride  to  form  a  government,  which  he  suc- 
ceeded in  doing,  as  follows : 

THE   MC  BRIDE  MINISTRY. 

June  I,  1903. 

Hon.  Richard  McBride,  Premier  and  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands 
and  Works. 

Hon.  A.  E.  McPhillipa,  Attorney-General. 

Hon.  R.  G.  Tatlow,  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agriculture. 

Hon.  Charles  Wilson,  President  of  the  Council. 

Hon.  Robert  F.  Green,  Minister  of  Mines  and  Minister  in  Charge  of  the 
Educational  Department, 

Hon.  A.  S.  Goodeve,  Provincial  Secretary. . 

Messrs.  McPhillips  and  Goodeve  were  both  defeated  on  going  back  for 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  315 

re-election  and  subsequently  resigned.  On  November  5,  the  Ministry  was 
reconstructed  as  follows : 

Hon.  R.  McBride,  Premier,  Minister  of  Mines  and  Provincial  Secre- 
tary. }    }        .  .  ,  J 

Hon.  R.  G.  Tatlow,  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agriculture. 

Hon.  Charles  Wilson,  K.  C,  Attorney-General. 

Hon.  R.  F.  Green,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works. 

Hon.  F.  J.  Fulton,  K.  C,  President  of  the  Council. 

On  May  18,  1904,  Hon.  F.  J.  Fulton  was  appointed  Provincial  Secre- 
tary and  Minister  in  Charge  of  the  Educational  Department,  and  on  June  6, 
Mr.  Francis  C.  Carter-Cotton  was  sworn  in  and  appointed  President  of  the 

Council. 

BRITISH   COLUMBIA  JUDICIARY. 

THE  SUPREME   COURT. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  British  Columbia  is  composed  of  a  Chief  Justice 
and  four  Puisne  Judges.  Prior  to  the  passing  of  the  Act  42  Vict.  (B.  C), 
Chap.  20  (1878),  the  Court  was  composed  of  a  Chief  Justice  and  two  Puisne 
Judges.  The  Court  was  originally  called  "  The  Supreme  Court  of  Civil  Jus- 
tice of  British  Columbia,"  and  was  constituted  by  proclamation  having  the  force 
of  law,  issued  by  the  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  British  Columbia,  on  the  8th 
of  June,  1859.     The  following  is  a  list  of  Judges  appointed  from  the  outset : 

1870 — March  11.  The  Hon.  Henry  Pering  Pellew  Crease,  first  Puisne 
Judge.  Received  knighthood  January  ist,  1896.  Retired  January  20th, 
1896.  Mr.  Justice  Crease  was  appointed  Deputy  Judge  in  Admiralty  of  the 
Exchequer  Court  of  Canada  for  the  Admiralty  District  of  British  Columbia, 
November  27th,  1893.     ^^  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Angus  McColl. 

1872 — July  3.  The  Hon.  John  Hamilton  Gray,  Puisne  Judge.  Died 
June  5th,  1889. 

1880 — Nov.  26.  The  Hon.  John  Foster  McCreight,  Puisne  Judge.  Re- 
tired Nov.  17th,  1897. 


316  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

1880 — Nov.  26.  The  Hon.  Alexander  Rocke  Robertson,  Puisne  Judge. 
Died  Dec.  ist,  1881. 

1882 — May  23.  The  Hon.  George  Anthony  Walkem,  Puisne  Judge. 
Retired  Nov.  loth,  1903. 

1889 — August  14.  The  Hon.  Montague  William  Tyrwhitt  Drake, 
Puisne  Judge.     Retired  August  14th,  1904. 

1895 — Feb.  23.  The  Hon.  Theodore  Davie,  Chief  Justice,  succeeding 
Sir  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie.     Died  March  7th,  1898. 

1896 — Oct.  13.  The  Hon.  Angus  John  McColl,  Puisne  Judge.  August 
23rd,  1898,  appointed  Chief  Justice,  succeeding  the  Hon.  Theodore  Davie. 
Died  Jan.  i6th,  1902. 

1897 — Dec.  18.     The  Hon.  Paulus  ^milius  Irving,  Puisne  Judge. 

1898 — Sept.  12.  The  Hon.  Archer  Martin,  Puisne  Judge.  Appointed 
Local  Judge  in  Admiralty  in  the  room  and  stead  of  Hon.  Angus  John  McColl, 
deceased  March  4th,  1902. 

1902 — March  4.  The  Hon.  Gordon  Hunter,  Chief  Justice,  succeeding 
the  Hon.  Angus  John  McColl. 

1904 — Feb.  26.    The  Hon.  L.  P.  Duff,  Puisne  Judge. 

1904 — Sept.  28.    The  Hon.  Aulay  Morrison,  Puisne  Judge. 

CHIEF   JUSTICES   OF   VANCOUVER    ISLAND    AND   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

Hon.  David  Cameron,  from  Dec.  2,  1853,  to  Oct.  11,  1865. 
Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Needham,  from  Oct.  11,  1865,  to  Marcli  29,  1870. 
Hon.  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie,  from  Sept.  2,   1858,  to  June  11,    1894. 
Knighted  Nov.  26,  1874. 

Hon.  Theodore  Davie,  from  Feb.  23,  1895,  to  March  7,  1898. 
Hon.  Angus  John  McColl,  from  Oct.  13,  1896,  to  Jan.  16,  1902. 
Hon.  Gordon  Hunter,  from  March  4,  1902. 

COUNTY  COURT  JUDGES. 

Augustus  F.  Pemberton,  Victoria,  from  Sept.  23,  1867,  to  Jan.  14,  1881. 
Edward  H.  Sanders,  Lillooet  and  Clinton,  from  Sept.  18,  1867,  to  Jan. 
14,  1881. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  317 

Warner  R.  Spalding,  Nanaimo  and  Comox,  from  Sept.  28,  1867,  to  Jan. 
14,  i88i.' 

Henry  M,  Ball,  Cariboo,  from  Sept.  18,  1867,  to  Jan.  14,  1881. 

Peter  O'Reilly,  Yale,  from  Sept.  18,  1867,  to  Jan.  14,  1881. 

Arthur  T.  Bushby,  New  Westminster,  to  May  18,  1875. 

Eli  Harrison  (i).  Cariboo,  from  April  25,  1884,  to  Aug.  2,  1889. 

William  N.  Bole,  New  Westminster,  from  Sept.  19,  1889. 

Clement  F.  Cornwall,  Cariboo,  from  Sept.  18,  1889. 

Eli  Harrison,  Nanaimo,  from  Aug.  3,  1889. 

William  Ward  Spinks,  Yale,  from  Sept.  19,  1889. 

John  Andrew  Forin,  Kootenay,  from  Nov.  27,  1896.  (Also  Local 
Judge,  S.  C.) 

Alexander  Henderson,  Vancouver,  from  June  6,  1901.  (Also  Local 
Judge,  S.  C.) 

Andrew  Leamy  (died  1905),  Kootenay,  from  June  13,  1901. 

Andrew  Leamy  (died  1905),  Yale,  from  Oct.  31,  1901. 

H.  W.  P.  Clement,  Yale,  from  August  24,  1905. 

Peter  Secord  Lampman,  Victoria,  from  June  14,  1905.  (Also  Local 
Judge,  S.  C.) 

Frederick  McBain  Young,  Atlin,  from  June  14,  1905.  (Also  Local 
Judge,  S.  C.) 

Peter  Edmund  Wilson,  Kootenay,  Oct.  17,  1905.  (Also  Local  Judge, 
S.  C.) 

Note — Judge  Harrison  transferred  to  the  County  Court  of  Nanaimo, 
August  3,  1889. 


318  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

CAPTAIN   HERBERT  GEORGE   LEWIS. 

Captain  Herbert  George  Lewis  is  one  of  the  very  oldest  living  pioneers 
of  the  city  of  Victoria,  and  none  can  review  a  connection  more  intimate 
and  direct  with  all  this  portion  of  the  northwest  coast  than  he.  For  con- 
siderably longer  than  a  half  century  he  has  made  Victoria  and  environs  the 
center  and  scene  of  his  life's  activities,  and  nearly  always  in  connection  with 
the  shipping  and  marine  affairs. 

Captain  Lewis  was  born  in  Aspeden,  Hertfordshire,  England,  January 
2,  1828,  and  his  family  is  of  old  English  stock.  He  was  educated  in  Chel- 
tenham College,  at  the  time  the  great  public  school  of  western  England, 
and  his  training  was  practical  and  thorough.  When  sixteen  years  old  he 
began  his  career  on  the  sea,  and  as  a  midshipman  made  several  voyages  from 
England  to  India  and  China.  In  1847  he  entered  the  service  of  the  great 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  a  corporation  that  had  more  extensive  interests  in 
the  northwest  than  any  other  industrial  enterprise,  and  its  influence  was  the 
most  powerful  in  building  up  towns  and  trade  centers.  In  the  service  of 
this  company  he  sailed  to  Victoria.  At  that  early  day  Victoria  existed  only 
by  virtue  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  the  fort  and  its  extensive  en- 
virons was  all  there  was  to  the  city.  Young  Lewis  left  the  ship  Cowlitz  and 
on  the  Beaver  went  up  to  Fort  Simpson,  where  he  and  the  rest  of  the  party 
had  been  only  a  short  time  when  the  news  of  the  gold  discovery  in  Califor- 
nia reached  them.  The  mate  of  the  ship  and  six  of  the  sailors  stole  the 
ship's  boat  and  started  out  for  the  diggings.  Immediately  on  the  discovery 
of  the  loss  Mr.  Lewis  was  appointed  by  the  commander,  Sir  James  Douglass, 
to  take  twelve  men  and  set  out  in  pursuit.  His  party  kept  along  the  shore 
of  Puget  Sound  until  they  arrived  at  Olympia,  which  has  since  developed 
into  the  capital  of  Washington,  but  they  failed  to  overhaul  the  deserters  or 
recover  the  lost  boat.  He  remained  under  the  command  of  Sir  James 
Douglass  at  Fort  Simpson  for  some  time. 

During  his  long  career  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
Captain  Lewis  had  command,  at  different  times,  of  the  Beaver,  the  Otter, 
the  Labouchere,  and  he  was  engaged  for  a  time  in  transporting  wheat,  furs 
and  passengers  between  Sitka,  in  Russian  Alaska,  and  Victoria.  In  1858 
he  carried  passengers  up  the  Eraser  river  to  the  gold  diggings.  While  in 
command  of  the  Labouchere  and  the  Otter,  he  had  charge  of  the  fur  trade 
in  the  Russian  territory  from  1864  until  the  acquisition  of  Alaska  by  the 
United  States  in  1867.  In  1869  he  made  a  visit  back  to  England,  and  while 
still  there  in  the  following  year,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Langford. 


\i  l■•^^  0  1 
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I 


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I'  f!  0-;  II 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  319 

the  daughter  of  Edward  Langford,  who  had  come  out  to  British  Columbia 
in.  1852.  After  his  marriage  Captain  Lewis  returned  to  Victoria  and  con- 
tinued his  connection  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  until  1883.  In  that 
year  he  entered  the  Marine  Department  of  Canada,  and  has  continued  in 
that  line  of  public  service  to  the  present  time.  He  has  his  office  at  the  wharf 
on  James  bay,  and  his  pleasant  home  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  bay. 
Every  day  he  crosses  over  to  and  from  his  office  in  his  rowboat,  and  though 
in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age,  he  is  still  a  man  of  remarkable  vigor 
and  attends  to  business  and  his  active  affairs  with  all  the  zest  of  his  younger 
days.  He  is  one  of  the  old-time  seamen  of  the  northwest  coast,  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  anyone  knows  the  Pacific  coast  better  than  he. 

Captain  Lewis'  happy  married  life  extended  over  a  period  of  thirty- 
three  years,  and  it  was  a  deep  loss  not  only  to  himself  but  to  his  many  friends 
when  his  wife  was  taken  away  by  death  on  May  17,  1903.  She  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  England,  and  a  lady  of  many  estimable  qualities,  and 
her  life  was  one  of  usefulness  both  at  home  and  in  the  community.  Captain 
Lewis  has  accumulated  considerable  property,  at  different  places,  in  the  course 
of  his  long  career,  and  his  last  years  are  being  spent  in  comfort  and  ease, 
although  it  is  a  source  of  happiness  to  him  that  he  can  still  carry  the  active 
burdens  of  the  world- and  perform  a  useful  part  in  the  community.  He  and 
his  family  are  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  his  fraternal  affilia- 
tions are  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

LESLIE  HILL. 

Leslie  Hill,  general  manager  for  a  mining  syndicate  of  British  Columbia 
with  residence  in  Nelson,  is  classed  today  with  the  energetic  and  progressive 
business  men  of  his  locality.  It  is  impossible  to  clearly  determine  what 
would  be  the  condition  of  the  province  were  it  not  for  its  splendid  mining 
resources.  Imbedded  beneath  the  earth's  surface  are  the  rich  mineral  prod- 
ucts awaiting  the  efforts  of  those  who  can  convert  these  products  into  a 
marketable  commodity  for  use  in  the  commercial  world.  With  this  impor- 
tant task  Mr.  Hill  has  been  closely  associated  for  a  number  of  years,,  having 
a  thorough  knowledge,  of  the  great  scientific  principles  which  underlie  min- 
ing processes  as  well  as  the  practical  work  of  spreading  the  ore  and  placing 
it  in  condition  where  it  may  be  used  in  manufactures. 

Born  in  England,  Mr,  Hill  prepared  for  the  profession  of  civil  engin- 
eering. He  worked  with  Thomas  J.  Bewick  in  Northumberland  county, 
England,  in  the  lead  mining  districts,  going  there  to  perfect  his  knowledge 


320  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

of  his  chosen  caUing.  Crossing-  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world  he  was  man- 
ager of  the  Capleton  Copper  Company,  of  Quebec,  in  1876.  In  1878  he 
accepted  a  position  as  engineer  and  manager  of  the  San  Pete  Coal  &  Coke 
Company,  of  Utah,  and  in  1880  he  went  to  Montana,  where  he  became  a  con- 
sulting engineer,  acting  in  that  capacity  until  1890.  Two  years  later  he  went 
to  Golden,  British  Columbia,  and  as  a  consulting  engineer  made  the  first 
report  on  the  North  Star  mine.  In  1893  the  mine  was  shut  down  and  he 
then  joined  the  Prospecting  Syndicate  of  British  Columbia  as  engineer  and 
purchased  the  Jewell  mine  for  the  syndicate  near  Greenwood.  He  took  the 
first  hoist  into  that  country  and  did  the  first  regular  work  there.  He  was 
with  the  syndicate  some  years  and  also  did  consulting  work.  Until  1902 
his  headquarters  were  in  Vancouver,  but  in  that  year  he  joined  the  Hast- 
ings Syndicate  and  came  to  Nelson,  being  now  general  manager  of  the 
properties  controlled  by  that  syndicate.  His  intimate  knowledge  of  civil 
engineering  and  of  mining  makes  him  well  qualified  for  the  important  duties 
which  devolve  upon  him  and  his  efforts  are  of  direct  benefit  to  the  locality 
as  well  as  a  source  of  individual  profit  from  the  fact  that  every  new  and 
successful  enterprise  adds  to  the  commercial  and  industrial  activity  of  a 
community  and  it  is  upon  such  activity  that  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of 
each  district  depends.  He  has  good  business  ability  and  executive  efforts, 
is  far-sighted  and  enterprising  and  his  labors  have  enabled  him  to  win  a 
prominent  position  in  connection  with  the  mining  interests  of  the  great 
northwest. 

HON.  ALEXANDER  R.  ROBERTSON. 

Hon.  Alexander  Rocke  Robertson  was  for  many  years  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  legislative  and  judicial  history  of  the  province,  where  from 
pioneer  days  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  made  his  home,  bringing  his 
strong  intellectuality  to  bear  upon  many  questions  affecting  the  national  wel- 
fare. The  public  life  of  few  other  illustrious  citizens  of  British  Columbia 
has  extended  over  so  long  a  period  as  his,  and  certainly  the  life  of  none  has 
been  more  varied  in  service,  more  fearless  in  conduct  and  more  stainless  in 
reputation.  His  career  was  one  of  activity,  full  of  incidents  and  results.  In 
every  sphere  of  life  in  which  he  was  called  upon  to  move  he  made  an  indeli- 
ble impression  and  by  his  upright  public  service  he  honored  those  who  hon- 
ored him  with  official  preferment. 

Alexander  R.  RolDertson  was  born  in  Chatham,  Ontario,  in  1840,  and 
came  to  British  Columbia  in  1864.  He  had  acquired  a  liberal  law  educa- 
tion  and   practiced   his    profession    successfully.      The    zeal    with   which    he 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  321 

devoted  his  energies  to  his  chosen  hfe  work,  the  careful  regard  evinced  for 
the  interests  of  his  clients  and  an  assiduous  and  unrelaxing  attention  to  all 
the  details  of  his  cases,  brought  him  a  large  clientage  and  made  him  very 
successful  in  his  legal  business  both  as  advocate  and  counsellor.  The  emi- 
nence which  he  won  as  a  practitioner  ultimately  led  to  his  elevation  to  the 
su]>reme  court  bench  of  the  province,  and  yet  it  was  not  alone  through  his 
connection  with  the  bar  that  he  won  distinction  and  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  valued  citizens  of  Victoria.  He  contributed  to  the  moral  progress  of 
the  city  through  his  membership  in  the  Church  of  England  and  aside  from 
his  connection  with  the  various  church  activities  he  also  served  as  Sunday- 
school  superintendent  for  many  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  pro- 
vincial legislature,  secretary  of  the  first  government  of  the  confederation 
and  also  served  for  some  time  as  mayor  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Robertson  married  Miss  Margaret  Bruce  Eberts,  the  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  W.  D.  Eberts,  of  Chatham,  Ontario.  They  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  living,  namely :  Herbert,  a  lawyer,  resid- 
ing in  Dawson;  Harold  B.,  a  practicing  attorney  of  Victoria;  Herman  M., 
a  practicing  physician  of  Victoria,  who  was  born  in  this  city  in  1876,  studied 
medicine  and  received  his  degree  when  in  his  twenty-first  year  and  began 
practicing  in  1898,  since  which  time  he  has  enjoyed  a  lucrative  patronage 
in  hi.s  native  city,  where  he  is  also  serving  as  health  officer  and  as  secretary 
of  the  Victoria  Medical  Association;  Tate  M.,  who  is  engaged  in  business 
in  New  Orleans;  and  Alexander,  who  has  just  completed  his  education  in 
McGill  University,  at  Montreal,  Canada.  The  family  are  Episcopalians  in 
religious  faith  and  stand  very  high  in  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  them.  Dr. 
Robertson  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  and  also  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
fraternity  and  the  Sons  of  Scotland.  His  mother  is  still  living  in  the  com- 
fortable family  residence  in  Victoria,  to  which  city  she  came  in  her  early 
married  life.  Mr.  Robertson  died  December  i,  1881.  While  he  attained 
eminence  in  his  profession  his  labors  were  not  restricted  to  the  advance- 
ment of  his  own  personal  interests.  He  extended  his  efforts  to  various  fields, 
in  which,  as  an  acknowledged  leader, .  he  championed  the  highest  interests 
of  the  municipality  and  of  the  people  at  large,  and  with  such  success  that 
his  name  came  to  be  held  in  high  honor  while  he  lived  and  his  untimely 
death  was  regarded  with  a  sorrow  which  was  at  once  general  and  sincere. 


322  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

A.   E.   McPHILLIPS,   K.   C. 

A.  E.  McPhillips,  K.  C,  an  active  member  of  the  Victoria  bar  and  at  * 
one  time  attorney  general  of  British  Columbia,  was  born  on  the  21st  of 
March,  1861,  at  Richmond  Hill,  a  few  miles  north  of  the  city  of  Toronto. 
The  family  is  of  Irish  origin,  the  McPhillips  family  of  the  county  Mayo,  Ire- 
land. His  father,  George  McPhillips,  C.  E.,  emigrated  from  Ireland  to 
Canada  in  1840,  and  practiced  his  profession  first  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  afterwards  in  the  provinnce  of  Ontario.  For  years  he  was  a  Dominion 
land  surveyor  and  civil  engineer,  and  was  well  known  throughout  Canada. 
On  the  outbreak  of  the  first  Riel  rebellion  in  1870  he  followed  Colonel  Gar- 
net Wolsley,  now  Lord  Wolsley,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Red  River 
expedition,  to  Manitoba,  and  had  under  his  charge  the  first  Canadian  money 
and  coinage  forwarded  by  the  Dominion  government  to  the  Provincial  gov- 
ernment of  Manitoba,  amounting  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Sub- 
sequently he  had  charge  of  the  settlement  belt  or  river  surveys  for  the 
Dominion  government.  He  died  in  Winnipeg  in  1878.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Margaret  Lavin,  and  was  also  a  native  of  Ireland. 

In  1873  the  family  located  in  Manitoba  and  A.  E.  McPhillips,  then  a 
lad  of  twelve  years,  was  sent  to  the  well  known  Catholic  College  of  St.  Boni- 
face, and  later  to  Manitoba  College,  at  Winnipeg,  where  he  was  graduated 
with  the  class  of  1879.  Deciding  to  adopt  the  profession  of  law  as  a  life 
work,  he  entered,  as  a  student,  the  office  of  Messrs.  Biggs  &  Wood,  of 
which  the  Hon.  S.  C.  Biggs,  K.  C,  now  of  Toronto,  was  the  senior  mem- 
ber. He  was  called  to  the  bar  of  Manitoba  in  Trinity  Term,  1882,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  L.  G.  McPhillips,  who  is  now  a  king's  counsel  and  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  McPhillips  &  Lawssen,  of  Vancouver. 

A.  E.  McPhillips  removed  to  Victoria,  British  Columbia,  and  was 
called  to  the  bar  of  this  province,  practicing  alone  for  a  few  months,  when 
the  firm  of  McPhillips,  Wootton  &  Barnard  was  formed,  which  was  dissolved 
on  the  1st  of  November,  1904.  He  now  leads  the  firm  of  McPhillips  & 
Heisterman.  The  firm  has  made  a  special  feature  of  corporation  law  and 
Mr.  McPhillips  is  counsel  for  the  Imperial  Bank  of  Canada,  at  Victoria,  and 
liis  firm  are  the  solicitors  for  the  British  Columbia  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany, Limited,  which  operates  lines  at  Victoria,  Vancouver  and  New  West- 
minster, the  British  Columbia  Land  and  Investment  Agency,  Limited,  the 
British  Columbia  Telephones  Company,  and  various  other  corporations. 

From  1896  until  1901,  inclusive,  Mr.  McPhillips  was  vice  president  of 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  323 

the  Union  Club  of  Victoria,  and  in  1902-3  acted  as  its  president.  Interested 
in  military  matters,  he  has  a  second  class  military  certificate  from  the  Toronto 
School  of  Infantry  and  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Northwest  rebellion  in  1885, 
he  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Nineteenth  Battalion,  Winnipeg  Rifles,  with  which 
regiment  he  served  at  the  front  through  the  campaign  and  was  in  the  engage- 
ments of  Fish  Creek  and  Batoche,  and  now  holds  a  medal  and  clasp.  In  1890 
he  retired  from  the  regiment  with  the  rank  of  captain. 

In  Dominion  politics  Mr.  McPhillips  has  always  been  a  Conservative, 
and  in  1896,  during  the  controversy  over  the  Manitoba  school  question,  he 
wrote  some  very  valuable  articles  setting  forth  the  Roman  Catholic  point  of 
view — articles  that  had  no  little  effect  upon  the  public  mind.  In  1898  he  was 
elected  to  the  British  Columbia  Legislature  from  Victoria  as  a  supporter  of 
the  ministry  of  the  Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  and  was  re-elected  in  1900,  which 
election  was  a  public  endorsement  of  his  former  efficient  service.  He  was 
always  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  progressive  members  of  the 
provincial  parliament,  being  one  of  the  principal  members  of  the  opposition 
under  the  leadership  of  Richard  McBride,  the  present  premier.  It  was 
through  the  appointment  of  Hon.  McBride  that  Mr.  McPhillips  became  at- 
torney general  of  the  province,  a  position  which  he  filled  until  the  5th  of 
November,  1903,  when  he  resigned.  His  activity  in  community  and  pro- 
vincial affairs  has  ever  been  prompted  by  a  most  public-spirited  interest  in  the 
general  welfare. 

Mr.  McPhillips  was  married  in  1896  to  Miss  Sophie  Davie,  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Alexander  Davie,  K.  C,  of  Victoria,  who  was  premier  and  attorney 
general  of  British  Columbia  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1889.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McPhillips  have  three  children.  They  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  and  "  Clonmore  House,"  their  beautiful  residence  on  Rockland 
avenue,  is  the  center  of  a  cultured  society  circle. 

Standing  today  as  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Victoria  bar,  with 
a  knowledge  of  the  law  and  a  resource  in  practice  that  makes  him  a  formidable 
adversary  in  the  courtroom  and  a  wise  counsellor,  he  has  at  the  same  time  been 
a  director  of  public  thought  and  opinion,  while  his  personal  worth  has  won  him 
warm  friendships  and  high  regard. 

HON.  W.  J.  ARMSTRONG. 

Hon.  William  James  Armstrong,  who  has  now  passed  the  seventy- 
eighth  milestone  on  life's  journey  and  for  forty-six  years  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  British  Columbia,  has  been  closely  associated  with  the  development 


324  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

of  the  material  resources  of  the  country  and  at  the  same  time  has  figured 
prominently  in  its  public  life,  wielding  a  wide  influence  and  becoming  a 
director  of  public  thought  and  action.  His  course  has  always  been  charac- 
terized by  devotion  to  the  general  good  rather  than  to  personal  advance- 
ment, and  he  has  placed  the  welfare  of  the  province  before  partisanship  or 
self-aggrandizement,  and  thus  throughout  his  public  life  he  has  honored  the 
people  who  have  honored  him  with  high  political  preferment  and  distinc- 
tion. 

Mr.  Armstrong  has  the  credit  of  being  the  first  settler  in  New  West- 
minster and  built  the  first  house  in  what  is  now  the  Royal  City  by  the  Grand 
Eraser  river.  He  is  a  native  of  Peterborough,  Ontario,  born  on  the  31st 
of  October,  1826,  and  is  of  Scotch  descent.  His  grandfather,  Mathew 
Armstrong,  was  born  in  county  Cavan,  Ireland,  and  emigrating  to  Canada 
in  1814,  became  the  pioneer  settler  of  the  township  of  Cavan,  in  Ontario; 
in  fact,  he  gave  the  name  to  the  township. 

William  Armstrong,  father  of  W.  J.  Armstrong,  was  bom  in  Ireland 
in  1800  and  came  with  his  father  to  Canada  when  fourteen  years  of  age. 
He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Brown,  a  native  of  county  Cavan,  Ireland,  with 
whom  he  afterward  came  to  the  Pacific  coast.  He  was  a  merchant  and  a 
farmer,  and  while  in  Canada  also  became  active  in  military  and  civic  affairs, 
serving  as  captain  of  militia  and  as  magistrate  for  many  years,  his  public 
duties  being  always  most  faithfully  performed.  He  was  likewise  active  in 
church  work  in  Canada,  he  and  his  wife  being  mernbers  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  to  the  support  of  which  he  contributed  generously,  while  in  all  possi- 
ble ways  he  aided  in  the  extension  of  its  influence.  In  185 1  he  emigrated 
with  his  family  to  Grass  Valley,  California,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
that  state,  contributing  to  its  early  substantial  development.  Pie  went  there 
in  search  of  a  milder  climate,  and  after  many  years  of  active  business  life 
he  lived  retired.  His  wife  died  many  years  before  and  there  was  a  second 
marriage,  and  several  children  by  that  union.  He  attained  the  venerable 
age  of  ninety-four  years  and  at  his  demise  left  to  his  family  an  untarnished 
name.  There  were  six  children  by  the  first  marriage,  of  whom  only  twO'  are 
now  living:  Mrs.  James  Stratton,  a  resident  of  Peterborough,  Ontario;  and 
William  J.,  of  this  review. 

The  latter  attended  the  comnTOn  schools  of  Ontario,  but  is  practically 
a  self-educated  as  well  as  self-made  man.  •  He  went  with  his  father  and  the 
family  to  California  in  185 1  and  engaged  in  placer  mining  in  Grass  Valley, 
on  Iowa  Hill,  meeting  with  only  moderate  success.  He  worked  for  wages 
and  continued  in  California  until  1858,  when  he  removed  to  British  Colum- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  325 

bia,  taking  up  his  residence  at  Langley.  The  work  of  settlement  of  a  per- 
manent character  had  scarcely  been  begun,  although  the  rich  mineral  dis- 
tricts of  the  country  had  drawn  many  men  to  this  region  in  search  of  gold. 
Colonel  Moody  had  decided  upon  what  is  now  New  Westminster  as  the 
site  of  a  capital  for  the  colony  and  it  was  called  Queensborough.  In  March, 
1859,  Mr.  Armstrong  and  his  half-brother,  Henry  Armstrong,  together 
with  John  S.  McDonald,  came  down  the  river  to  the  new  townsite.  There 
had  been  an  effort  to  start  a  town  some  distance  up  the  river,  to  be  called 
Derby,  but  it  had  been  given  up.  A  schooner,  loaded  with  lumber,  was 
making  its  way  up  the  river  intending  to  take  its  cargo,  but  when  it  was 
learned  that  that  town  had  been  abandoned  it  unloaded  its  lumber  at  Queens- 
borough  and  from  some  of  this  lumber  the  first  house  of  what  is  now  New 
Westminster  was  erected  by  Mr.  Armstrong,  assisted  by  his  friends  who 
were  with  him.  He  opened  a  little  general  mercantile  store  and  therefore 
has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  merchant  of  the  city  as  well  as  the  owner 
of  its  first  residence.  The  first  stock  of  goods  for  the  store  was  secured  in 
Victoria  and  he  continued  in  the  trade  until  1873.  ^^  was  long  prominent 
in  its  business  life  and  thus  contributed  in  large  measure  to  the  commercial 
activity  of  the  city,  upon  which  the  prosperity  and  well-being  of  every  com- 
munity always  depends. 

Mr.  Armstrong  has  also  figured  prominently  in  public  affairs,  aiding 
in  molding  public  thought  and  action,  and  his  influence  has  ever  had  a 
beneficial  effect  upon  his  community  and  province.  In  i860,  when  the  first 
town  council  was  elected,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  councilmen  and  re- 
mained an  active  member  of  that  body  until  1873.  In  1869  he  was  chosen 
its  president  and  also  in  1870.  He  became  very  active  in  securing  federa- 
tion, and  after  this  was  accomplished  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  dis- 
trict of  Westminster  in  the  provincial  legislature.  In  1873,  when  the 
McCreight  government  was  defeated  by  the  DeCosmos  government,  he  joined 
the  cabinet  of  the  latter  as  minister  of  finance  and  agriculture  and  retained 
that  office  until  1876,  when  his  party  was  defeated.  He  continued  an  active 
worker  an  the  opposition  benches  until  1879.  During  the  session  of  that 
year  a  deadlock  occurred  and  the  government  was  about  to  appeal  to  the 
country  without  having  passed  the  estimates.  Mr.  Armstrong,  understand- 
ing the  financial  situation  and  seeing  the  effect  it  would  have  on  the  provincial 
credit,  arranged  a  meeting  between  three  representatives  from  each  party 
and  secured  an  understanding  whereby  supplies  were  voted  for  the  con- 
duct of  public  business.  In  the  general  election  of  1897  Mr.  Armstrong 
stood  as  a  candidate  for  Ne^v  Westminster,  but  was  defeated,  largely  be- 


326  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

cause  of  his  inability  to  make  a  personal  canvass,  owing  to  the  demands 
upon  his  time  made  by  his  extensive  business  interests. 

In  the  bi-election  of  1881  Mr.  Armstrong  again  offered  himself  as  a 
candidate  for  his  city  and  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  To- 
ward the  close  of  this  session  he  became  provincial  secretary.  In  the  gen- 
eral election  of  1882  he  was  again  returned  as  representative  from  New 
Westminster,  but  his  party  was  in  the  minority  in  the  house  and  he  took  his 
seat  on  the  opposition  benches.  In  1883  he  was  appointed  sheriff  of  West- 
minster county  and  the  house  thus  lost  one  of  its  most  able  and  energetic 
working  members — one  who  looked  more  tO'  the  interests  of  the  county  than 
to  the  interests  of  the  party.  He  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  legislature  of 
the  province,  as  well  as  with  the  management  of  its  finances  for  eleven  years, 
and  after  his  retirement  was  often  urged  to  again  stand  for  the  dominion 
and  provincial  legislatures,  but  declined  to  again  enter  public  life. 

In  the  years  in  which  he  figured  prominently  and  beneficially  in  public 
affairs,  Mr.  Armstrong  capably  managed  private  business  interests.  In  1867, 
at  Westminster,  he  built  a  flour  mill,  which  was  the  first  in  the  province,  and 
continued  its  operation  until  1871.  In  1876  he  built  a  sawmill,  which  he 
continued  to  conduct  until  1882.  He  has  had  much  to  do  with  most  of  the 
enterprises  which,  since  i860  have  been  the  principal  features  in  the  upbuild- 
ing and  development  of  the  county,  and  his  labors  have  had  direct  and  imr 
portant  effect  on  material  upbuilding  and  political  progress.  He  was  ap- 
pointed and  has  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years.  When 
he  had  served  as  sheriff  for  ten  years  he  resigned  in  favor  of  his  son,  who 
has  since  filled  that  office. 

In  1 86 1  Mr.  Armstrong  was  married  to  Miss  H.  C.  Ladner,  a  native 
of  Cornwall,  England.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  daughters 
and  three  sons,  as  follows :  Sarah  Frances,  at  home ;  William  Thomas ; 
Joseph,  now  sheriff  of  the  county;  Rosanna  Salina,  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  O. 
Morris,  a  practicing  physician  of  Vernon;  and  two  who  died  in  childhood. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Armstrong  are  valued  members  of  the  Episcopal  church,  of 
which  he  has  been  an  officer  for  many  years,  and  was  one  of  the  men  who 
aided  in  the  building  of  the  church  edifice.  He  has  for  years  been  president 
of  the  Westminster  branch  of  the  British  Columbia  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 
ciety, and  has  labored  with  strong  purpose  for  the  moral  progress  of  his 
county.  Through  a  long  period  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  served  as  the  first  noble  grand  in  New  Westmin- 
ster. 

Mr.  Armstrong,  having  promised  his  wife  that  when  the  railroad  was 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  327 

built  through  this  city  they  would  take  a  trip  to  the  east,  ten  days  after  the 
trains  began  running  they  and  their  two  daughters  started  for  Quebec,  visiting 
also  Niagara  Falls,  Chicago.  St.  Paul  and  Winnipeg,  having  a  delightful  four 
months'  excursion  by  rail  and  seeing  many  points  of  interest  in  Canada  and 
the  States.  They  have  an  attractive  home  in  New  Westminster,  and  this 
honored  pioneer,  the  first  permanent  settler  here,  receives  the  respect  and 
veneration  which  should  ever  be  accorded  those  who  travel  far  on  life's  jour- 
ney and  whose  course  has  been  marked  by  good  deeds  and  strong  and  honora- 
ble purpose.  His  name  has  long  been  a  synonym  for  business  and  political  in- 
tegrity and  his  record  forms  an  integral  chapter  in  the  history  of  British 
Columbia. 

GEORGE  LAWSON  MILNE,  M.  D.,  J.  P. 

George  Lawson  Milne,  M.  D.,  an  ex-member  of  the  provincial  parlia- 
ment, for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  a  prominent  medical  practitioner  in 
Victoria,  and  also  a  leader  in  business  circles  and  closely  identified  with  public 
affairs,  has  put  his  talents  to  use  in  many  ways  for  his  own  advancement  and 
for  the  advantage  of  his  province  and  his  fellow  men. 

He  is  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  having  been  born  in  the  town  of  Garmouth, 
Morayshire,  April  19,  1850.  His  ancestral  line  goes  back  many  generations 
in  Scotland.  His  parents  were  Alexander  and  Isabella  (Ingils)  Milne,  both 
natives  of  that  country.  The  Milnes  were  very  prominent  Scotch  Presbyter- 
ians, and  Dr.  Milne's  father  was  an  elder  and  a  deacon  after  the  disruption  of 
the  church  in  1845.  The  father  followed  merchandising  in  the  old  country, 
and  in  1857  emigrated  to  Ontario,  dying  in  Meaford  in  that  province,  when  in 
the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  life.  A  successful  business  man  and  merchant, 
he  was  likewise  everywhere  honored  for  his  probity  of  character  and  useful- 
ness in  church  and  society.  His  wife  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- four  years, 
and  they  had  been  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  six  sons  and  five  daughters. 
The  oldest  son,  the  late  Alexander  Milne,  C.  M.  G.,  was  for  many  years  col- 
lector of  customs  in  Victoria,  and  his  death  occurred  on  the  17th  of  January, 
1904. 

Dr.  Milne  is  now  the  only  member  of  the  family  in  the  province  of  Brit- 
ish Columbia.  He  was  seven  years  old  when  brought  across  the  waters  to 
Canada,  and  he  was  reared  and  received  his  early  education  at  Meaford.  He 
later  took  up  the  study  of  medicine,  receiving  the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  the 
Toronto  University  and  the  degree  of  M.  D.  C.  M.  from  the  Victoria  Univer- 
sity, after  which  he  immediately  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  has  gained  an  enviable  reputation  in  his  work,  and  has  a  profitable  prac- 


328  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

tice.  He  was  health  officer  for  the  city  of  Victoria  from  1886  to  1892,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  took  a  hvely  interest  in  the  question  of  a  proper  sewage 
system,  and  has  written  several  able  articles  on  the  "  Separate  System  of 
Sewage,"  also  an  article  on  "  Modified  Typhoid  Fever,"  besides  other  subjects. 

During  his  residence  in  Victoria  he  has  been  especially  interested  in 
public  affairs.  For  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of  education  he  served 
for  a  number  of  years  on  the  school  board,  and  the  school  system  of  the  city 
has  been  effectively  aided  by  him.  He  was  among  the  first  to  take  steps  look- 
ing to  providing  a  new  medical  act  for  the  province,  and  since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  medical  council  he  was  registrar  and  secretary  for  many  years, 
as  well  as  a  medical  examiner  for  that  body.  Dr.  Milne's  political  alignment 
has  always  been  with  the  Liberals,  and  he  represented  the  city  of  Victoria  in 
the  local  legislature  from  1900  to  1904.  In  1896  he  contested,  but  unsuccess- 
fully, the  constituency  of  Victoria  city  and  district  for  the  Dominion  house 
of  parliament.  At  present  Dr.  Milne  is  medical  inspector  and  immigration 
agent  at  Victoria  for  the  Dominion  government,  and  is  a  justice  of  the  peace 
in  and  for  the  province  of  British  Columbia. 

Dr.  Milne  has  been  a  valuable  factor  in  business  affairs,  notwithstanding 
his  activity  in  professional  work.  It  is  to  his  credit  that  the  Vancouver  Gas 
Company  was  instituted,  and  he  served  as  president  of  the  company  for  some 
years.  He  is  a  director  and  president  of  the  Nanaimo  Gas  Company.  He 
is  president  of  the  Ramsey  Brothers  and  Company,  biscuit  and  candy  manu- 
facturers, whose  large  factory  is  located  at  Vancouver,  and  is  also  a  director 
of  the  National  Life  Assurance  Company  of  Canada,  with  head  office  in  To- 
ronto, Canada.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  president  of  the  Liberal  Asso- 
ciation of  Victoria.  Dr.  Milne  is  a  prominent  Mason,  and  has  taken  the  blue 
lodge,  the  Royal  Arch  and  Knight  Templar  degrees,  and  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters.  His  church  connections  are  with  the 
St.  Andrew's  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  is  a  valued  member. 

Dr.  Milne  was  married  in  1882  to  Miss  Ellen  Catherine  Kinsman,  who 
is  a  native  of  Victoria  and  a  daughter  of  Alderman  John  Kinsman,  of  that 
city.  The  Milne  home  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  in  Victoria ;  it  is  known 
as  "  Pinehurst,"  located  on  the  Dallas  road,  and  its  beauty  and  charm  are 
appreciated  by  scores  of  friends. 

JAMES  YATES. 

James  Yates,  a  prominent  Victoria  pioneer  of  1849,  "^^^  contributed  to 
the  early  development  of  the  city  and  aided  in  shaping  the  public  policy  to 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  329 

the  betterment  of  conditions,  material,  intellectual  and  political,  in  the  prov- 
ince, was  born  in  Linlithgow,  Scotland,  on  the  21st  of  January,  1819.  He 
was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  country  and  was  there  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Powell.  In  early  life  he  had  learned  the  trade  of  a  ship  carpenter  and 
he  came  to  British  Columbia  in  1849  to  superintend  the  building  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  ships,  having  an  agreement  whereby  he  was.  to  remain  in  charge  of 
this  work  for  three  years.  He  was  stationed  at  Victoria  for  eighteen  months, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  applied  for  a  termination  of  the  business  arrange- 
ment with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This  was  granted  and  he  then 
opened  a  store  of  his  own  in  which  he  sold  goods  and  bought  furs.  He  also 
invested  in  city  property  and  became  the  owner  of  all  of  the  land  extending 
between  Langley  and  Wharf  streets,  and  Yates  street,  in  this  district,  was 
named  in  his  honor.  Recognizing  and  taking  advantage  of  existing  busi- 
ness possibilities  he  made  money  rapidly,  accumulating  a  handsome  fortune 
during  his  sojourn  in  British  Columbia.  In  1855  he  was  elected  to  the  first 
legislative  council  of  Vancouver  Island  to  represent  Victoria  city.  In  i860 
he  returned  to  Scotland,  taking  his  family  with  him  and  leaving  them  in 
that  country  in  order  to  provide  his  children  with  better  educational  ad- 
vantages than  could  be  secured  in  the  province.  He,  however,  returned  to 
British  Columbia  in  1862  and  it  required  two  years  for  him  to  settle  up  his 
business.  In  1864  he  returned  to  his  native  land,  where  he  spent  his  re- 
maining days,  departing  this  life  on  the  23d  of  February,  1900,  when  in  the 
eighty-first  year  of  his  age.  His  wife  had  died  about  a  year  prior  to  his 
demise.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  as  follows :  Emma,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Hon.  Alexander  McGregor,  British  consul  in  Stockholm, 
Sweden;  Harriet,  who  became  the  wife  of  Professor  G.  S.  Woodard,  a  pro- 
fessor of  Pathology  in  the  University  of  Cambridge;  Mary,  who  is  now  Mrs. 
Harper,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland;  Henry  Myers  and  Catherine  Jane,  residing 
in  Edinburgh,  and  James  Stuart. 

The  last  named  was  born  in  Victoria,  in  1857,  ^^"^^  i^^  1^62  he  started 
with  the  family  for  Scotland.  While  in  New  York,  at  the  St.  Denis  Hotel, 
he  came  very  nearly  losing  his  life  by  falling  several  stories  down  the  well 
of  a  circular  staircase.  Both  of  his  legs  were  broken  and  the  New .  York 
physician  said  he  could  not  recover,  but  his  father  took  him  to  Liverpool  and 
placed  him  under  the  care  of  an  eminent  surgeon.  Dr.  Evan  Thomas,  and  in 
three  months  he  had  recovered.  He  then  joined  the  family  in  Scotland, 
where  he  acquired  his  education,  attending  the  Edinburgh  Collegiate  School 
and  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  being  graduated  in  the  latter  institution 
with  the  degrees  of  Master  of  Arts,  and  Bachelor  of  Laws.     He  then  entered 


330  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Middle  Temple,  London,  England,  as  a  law  student  and  passed  the  required 
examination  for  admission  to  the  bar  in  the  Hilary  term  in  1883. 

After  traveling  through  Denmark  Mr.  Yates  came  again  to  British 
Columbia,  arriving  in  Victoria  in  the  month  of  October,  1883,  and  here  he 
embarked  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  connection  with  George  Jay. 
Edwin  Johnson,  a  well  known  barrister  of  Victoria,  was  absent  in  England 
for  a  year  and  they  managed  his  business  and  upon  his  return  the  law  firm  of 
Johnson,  Yates  &  Jay  was  organized,  this  relationship  being  continued  until 
1888,  when  Mr.  Johnson  withdrew,  retiring  from  the  practice  of  law.  Since 
that  time  the  firm  of  Yates  &  Jay  has  maintained  a  continuous  existence,  with 
a  remunerative  general  law  practice. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Yates  is  a  Liberal.  He  was  elected  and  served 
as  one  of  the  aldermen  of  the  city  in  1900,  and  was  afterward  re-elected  by 
acclamation.  He  had  the  honor  of  being  elected  altogether  four  times  and 
was  the  head  and  front  of  the  controversy  concerning  the  construction  of  the 
Point  Ellis  bridge,  and  had  his  views  been  carried  out  at  that  tmie  eighteen 
thousand  dollars  would  have  been  saved  to  the  city.  Mr,  Yates  was  prom- 
inent in  the  organization  of  the  Native  Sons  of  British  Columbia  and  had 
the  honor  of  being  elected  its  first  chief  factor.  He  was  for  many  years  a 
director  of  the  Royal  hospital  and  was  also  a  director  of  the  Provincial  Jubi- 
lee from  its  inception.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Victoria  school  board 
for  four  years,  during  which  time  the  north  and  south  ward  schoolhouses 
were  built.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Hon.  Jo  Martin  government,  and  under 
Mr.  Martin  he  served  as  chief  commissioner  of  lands  and  works.  Thus  his 
activities  have  touched  many  lines  bearing  upon  public  progress  and  the  bet- 
terment of  conditions,  educational  and  otherwise,  in  Victoria  and  the  province, 
and  he  is  widely  and  favorably  known  for  his  public-spirited  citizenship. 

In  1890  Mr.  Yates  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Annie  Austin,  a  native 
of  Victoria,  and  they  now  have  three  sons :  James  Austin,  Henry  Joel  and 
Robert  Stanley.  The  family  are  highly  esteemed,  and  socially  as  well  as 
professionally  Mr.  Yates  is  prominent. 

JAMES  WELTON  HORNE. 
James  Welton  Home,  one  of  the  most  honored  and  prominent  residents 
of  the  city  of  Vancouver,  his  life  history  forming  an  important  chapter  in  its 
history,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Christopher  and  Elizabeth  Harriet  (Orr)  Home, 
who  were  of  Scotch  and  English  ancestry.  His  birth  occurred  in  the  city  of 
Toronto,  Canada,  on  the  3d  of  November,  1853,  and  he  there  acquired  his 
early  education.     He  afterward     attended  school  in  Whitby  and  completed 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  33i 

his  studies  in  the  college  at  Belleville,  Ontario.  Thus  equipped  for  life's  prac- 
tical and  resix)nsible  duties  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Stathacona  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company  as  assistant  secretary,  and  at  the  end  of  a  year  began  business 
on  his  own  account  as  a  financial,  real  estate  and  insurance  broker.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  a  large  clientage  within  three  years,  but  Horace  Greeley's 
advice,  "  Go  west,  young  man,  go  west,"  was  continually  in  his  mind  like  a 
refrain.  He  was  studying  the  signs  of  the  times  when  the  west  was  just 
being  opened  up  to  civilization  for  it  afforded  excellent  natural  resources 
and  business  opportunities  and  when  there  w^ere  great  possibilities  for  a  young 
man  of  energy  and  enterprise.  Subsequently  in  the  spring  of  1878  he  re- 
moved to  Winnipeg,  w^here  he  again  opened  an  office  as  a  financial,  real  estate 
and  insurance  broker.  Almost  immediately  he  acquired  a  large  and  remu- 
nerative business  there,  but  he  was  continually  seeking  broader  fields  of  labor, 
and  in  March,  1881,  when  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  completed 
its  arrangement  with  the  Dominion  government  to  build  the  line  west  from 
Winnipeg,  Mr.  Home  at  once  determined  to  again  act  upon  Horace  Greeley's 
advice.  There  were  hundreds  of  people  on  the  qui  vive  to  be  the  first  on  the 
site  of  the  new  town  which  was  expected  to  spring  up  on  the  line  of  the  road 
in  the  center  of  a  fine  agricultural  country  west  of  Winnipeg.  Mr.  Home 
concluded  that  he  would  be  the  first  on  the  site,  and  when  General  Rosser  laid 
out  the  road  for  the  railroad  Mr.  Horne  followed  him  on  horseback.  When 
he  reached  the  point  on  the  Assiniboyne  river  where  it  was  necessary  for 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  to  cross  he  decided  that  he  had  found  the  site 
of  the  future  town.  Three  reasons  seemed  to  confirm  his  opinion.  It  was  at 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Assiniboyne ;  it  was  the  center  of  a  magnificent 
agricultural  district,  and  it  was  sufficiently  distant  from  Winnipeg,  and  would 
if  once  started  attract  the  people  in  Winnipeg.  The  site  of  the  future  town 
was  at  that  time  undistinguishable  from  the  prairie  which  surrounded  it  on 
every  side,  save  that  the  great  stakes  of  the  railroad  had  been  there  driven. 
Mr.  Horne  purchased  a  portion  of  land  at  this  point,  at  once  put  up  a  tent  on 
the  prairie  and  subdivided  his  land  into  town  lots.  He  also  opened  and 
graded  a  street  and  when  this  was  done  began  the  erection  of  buildings,  it 
being  his  intention  to  attract  residents  to  the  new^  tow^n.  He  then  returned  to 
Winnipeg  and  influenced  a  few  of  the  business  men  to  take  his  stores  free  of 
rent  and  establish  different  lines  of  commercial  enterprises  at  that  place,  thus 
casting  in  their  fortunes  with  the  embryo  city.  His  plan  worked  well  for 
every  new  business  and  every  additional  citizen  attracted  others,  so  that  the 
town  became  advertised,  people  talked  about  it  and  the  settlers  visited  it  to 
become  permanent  residents.     The  government  land  agent  was  induced  by 


332  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Mr.  Home  to  make  his  headquarters  there  and  thus  the  first  office  building 
was  located  at  that  point.  Mr.  Home  secured  the  establishment  of  a  post- 
office  and  the  papers  began  to  comment  upon  the  new  western  town,  its 
growth  and  possibilities,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  first  year  it  had  between 
two  and  three  hundred  inhabitants.  The  future  of  Brandon — for  so  it  was 
called — was  thus  assured.  Mr.  Home  continued  to  erect  buildings  on  his 
property  and  Rosser  avenue,  the  street  on  which  they  were  built,  became  the 
principal  thoroughfare.  In  November  the  railroad  reached  the  place  and  with 
it  a  large  number  of  people  poured  in.  In  the  spring  of  1882  there  were 
over  one  thousand  inhabitants  in  Brandon,  a  public  meeting  was  called,  a  city 
charter  was  applied  for  and  granted  and  Mr.  Home  allowed  himself  to  be 
elected  a  member  of  the  council  board,  believing  that  he  could  accomplish 
much  in  that  position.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  he  was  elected 
chairman  of  the  board  of  public  v\^rks  and  in  that  capacity  he  brought  in  a 
report  recommending  the  opening  of  streets,  the  building  of  sidewalks  and 
other  city  improvements  which  would  cost  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  The  recommendation  was  adopted  and  the  work  of  carrying  out  the 
details  was  left  to  him.  He  at  once  advertised  for  workers  in  the  principal 
papers  in  the  east  and  the  attention  of  contractors  and  workers  was  thus 
turned  to  Brandon  and  a  large  number  of  people  came,  so  that  at  the  end  of 
the  year  its  population  had  reached  three  thousand.  Mr.  Home  was  also 
instrumental  in  securing  the  establishment  of  public  institutions  here,  a  land 
register  office  was  located  in  the  young  city  and  the  office  of  registrar  was 
tendered  to  him,  but  he  declined  it.  His  property  increased  in  value  with  the 
growth  of  the  town  and  he  was  regarded  as  a  most  enterprising  and  success- 
ful business  man. 

The  work  of  city  building  here  having  been  carefully  instituted  and 
placed  upon  a  safe  basis  Mr.  Home  then  sought  other  fields  of  activity.  He 
had  always  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  the  Pacific  province  and  was  especially 
interested  in  the  terminus  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  In  the  spring  of 
1883  he  took  a  trip  to  southern  California  and  on  his  return  visited  Burrard 
inlet  and  the  Fraser  river.  He  perceived,  however,  that  he  was  too  early  to 
do  permanent  work  in  that  locality  and  returned  to  Winnipeg  and  Brandon 
to  settle  up  his  business  affairs  there.  In  the  spring  of  1884,  however,  he 
again  visited  Burrard  inlet,  but  found  that  the  terminus  had  not  yet  been 
definitely  settled.  In  March,  1885,  he  finally  located  at  Coal  Harbor,  now 
the  city  of  Vancouver,  this  being  a  year  and  ten  months  before  the  railroad 
was  extended  to  the  city.  He  invested  largely  in  real  estate  when  there  was 
little  to  indicate  the  present  phenomenal  metropolis  except  a  fev/  board  shan- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  333 

ties  scattered  along  the  beach.  At  this  early  stage  in  the  city's  history,  when 
it  existed  only  on  paper,  he  identified  himself  with  its  progress  and  growth. 
Possessing  keen  discrimination  ahd  sagacity  he  made  very  choice  locations 
of  property  and  erected  business  buildings  thereon.  His  faith  in  Vancouver 
and  its  possibilities  was  from  the  first  unbounded  and  time  has  proven  the 
wisdom  ,of  his  belief,  crowning  his  labors  with  success.  He  built  several 
large  business  blocks  on  Cordova,  Granville  and  other  streets  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  has  been  a  most  active  factor  in  the  substantial  upbuilding 
and  improvement  of  the  city.  He  has  not  only  conducted  private  business 
interests,  but  has  labored  for  Vancouver  in  public  office.  He  was  the  original 
moving  spirit  in  organizing  the  company  for  the  building  of  the  street  rail- 
way, was  the  promoter  of  the  electric  light  company,  and  was  instrumental  in 
the  building  of  the  tramway  between  Vancouver  and  New  Westminster.  He 
acted  as  president  and  managing  director  of  the  street  railway  and  of  the 
electric  light  companies  for  several  years,  or  until  he  sold  his  interests.  In 
1888  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  council  and  again  in  1889  and  1890, 
on  all  occasions  receiving  the  largest  vote  ever  cast  in  the  city.  In  1890  he 
was  chosen  a  member  oi  the  legislative  assembly  of  British  Columbia,  as 
representative  from  Vancouver,  and  his  course  in  office  has  fully  justified  the 
trust  reposed  in  him.  Since  coming  to  British  Columbia  he  has  been  identi- 
fied with  "almost  every  enterprise  of  importance  which  has  had  for  its  object 
the  development  of  the  country  and  the  promotion  of  Vancouver's  welfare. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  board  of  park  commissioners  for  six  years  and  de- 
voted much  time  and  energy  to  the  superintending  and  beautifying  of  the 
park.  The  zoo  which  now  attracts  thousands  of  visitors  annually  was  per- 
sonally started  by  him  at  his  own  expense  and  donated  to  the  city.  Upon  two 
occasions  he  was  offered  a  portfolio  in  the  Davie  government,  that  of  minister 
of  finance  and  minister  of  lands  and  works,  but  both  of  these  he  declined  on 
account  of  having  to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  his  varied  business  interests 
m  Vancouver.  During  his  four  years'  service  in  the  house  of  the  assembly 
he  was  a  most  careful  and  hard  working  representative  and  never  lost  an 
opportunity  for  furthering  the  material  interests  and  substantial  upbuilding 
of  his  district.  To  his  zeal  and  energy  is  due  the  fact  that  the  city  of  Van- 
couver can  today  boast  of  many  public  advantages  and  splendid  edifices,  these 
being  monuments  to  his  very  capable  work.  Because  of  his  private  business 
interests  and  the  conditions  of  his  health  Mr.  Home  decided  not  to  again 
stand  for  the  assembly  and  in  a  meeting  held  by  the  government  supporters  the 
following  resolution  was  passed  by  a  standing  vote :  "  Resolved,  that  the  best 
thanks  of  the  general  community  of  the  supporters  of  the  government  party 


( 


384  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

in  the  city  of  Vancouver  are  hereby  accorded  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Home,  Esquire,  M, 
P.,  for  the  able  and  valuable  services  rendered  by  him  to  the  city  of  Vancouver 
and  the  province  at  large  during  the  four  years  he  has  been  a  member  for 
this  constituency;  that  they  regret  business  and  other  considerations  have 
induced  him  to  retire  from  public  life  for  the  present,  but  hope  that  on  some 
future  date  he  may  see  fit  to  allow  himself  to  be  put  in  nomination  ^or  par- 
liamentary honors."  This  resolution  was  most  loudly  applauded  and  Mr. 
Home  may  well  be  proud  of  this  public  acknowledgment  of  his  able  service 
by  his  fellow  citizens.  Since  his  retirement  from  public  life  his  energies  have 
been  concentrated  upon  the  management  of  his  private  business  interests. 

Mr.  Home  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  at- 
tained the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scottish  rite.  He  is  a  past  master  of 
Cascade  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  lodge  of  British 
Columbia,  in  which  he  has  filled  many  offices.  Among  the  eminent  men  of 
the  northwest  whose  life  records  form  an  integral  part  of  the  history  of 
British  Columbia  he  is  numbered  and  is  classed  with  the  most  enterprising 
and  successful  business  men,  gifted  statesmen  and  loyal  citizens. 

JOHN  TEAGUE. 

In  the  field  of  daily  activity  John  Teague  is  winning  success,  an  unassail- 
able reputation  and  a  place  among  the  representative  business  men  of  Victoria, 
where  he  is  known  as  a  druggist  of  high  ability.  He  is  a  native  son  of  this 
city,  where  his  birth  occurred  on  the  28th  of  December,  1865,  and  is  a  rep- 
resentative of  old  English  ancestry.  His  father,  John  Teague,  Sr.,  was  born 
at  Redmuth,  Cornwall,  England,  and  joined  the  rush  to  the  Eraser  river  gold 
excitement  in  1858,  where  he  mined  on  the  Eraser  and  in  the  Cariboo  District 
with  the  usual  miner's  luck,  making  and  losing  large  sums  of  money.  In  his 
earlier  career  he  had  learned  the  business  of  an  architect,  and  after  his  re- 
moval to  Victoria  followed  that  occupation  in  connection  with  contracting 
and  building,  having  erected  the  Driard  hotel  and  Jubilee  hospital,  and  also 
many  of  the  finest  residences  and  business  buildings  in  the  city.  He  also 
took  an  active  part  in  municipal  affairs,  and  was  the  choice  of  his  fellow 
citizens  for  the  position  of  alderman,  while  for  two  terms  he  served  as  mayor 
of  the  city.  Mr.  Teague  chose  for  his  wife  Miss  Emily  Abingfton,  who  was 
born  in  South  Africa,  and  was  the  daughter  of  S.  H.  Abington,  a  native  of 
England  and  interested  in  missionary  work  in  Africa.  In  their  family  were 
six  children,  four  of  whom  are  living,  as  follows :  Mrs.  J.  G.  Brown,  Emily, 
Albert  and  John.  All  were  born  in  Victoria,  and  here  they  still  make  their 
home,  being  numbered  among  the  city's  most  respected  residents. 


JOHN  TEAGUE  Sr. 


M  I'  I 


II     V  I  I',  li 

',  U  t'  'i  I  J  / 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  335 

John  Teagiie,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  received  his  Hterary 
education  and  learned  the  druggist's  trade  in  this  his  native  city,  and  in 
1886  first  entered  the  business  world  for  himself,  opening  his  store  on  Yates 
street.  In  1898  he  removed  to  his  present  location,  No.  27  Johnson  street. 
His  success  has  been  marked  and  immediate,  for  he  soon  secured  a  liberal 
patronage,  which  has  increased  with  the  passing  years,  and  he  now  enjoys 
not  only  a  remunerative  trade,  but  also  the  good  will  of  his  fellow  citizens. 
In  political  matters  he  holds  to  the  views  of  the  Liberals  and  religiously  is  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  England. 

MARK  BATE. 

Mark  Bate  is  one  of  the  oldest  living  pioneers  of  British  Columbia,  and 
the  city  of  Nanaimo  holds  him  in  especial  esteem,  since  he  has  been  a  resident 
there  for  nearly  fifty  years — in  fact  he  was  there  before  anything  like  a  town 
existed.  His  career  throughout  has  been  one  of  intense  industry  and  per- 
sistent activity  in  whatever  channels  chance  or  purpose  has  directed  his  ener- 
gies. He  possessed  only  knowledge  of  a  trade  and  plenty  of  ambition  as 
capital  when  he  began  climbing  the  road  to  success,  but,  judging  from  his 
present  prosperity  and  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  men,  those  quali- 
fications were  ample  prerequisites  for  what  he  sought  in  life. 

A  native  of  Birmingham,  Warwickshire,  England,  and  a  son  of  Thomas 
and  Elizabeth  (Robinson)  Bate,  Mr.  Bate  enjoyed  early  educational  oppor- 
tunities in  the  Dudley  grammar  and  other  schools,  and  then  entered  the  serv- 
ice of  Bramah,  Cochrane  &  Company  at  the  Woodside  Iron  Works,  with 
which  his  father  had  also  been  connected.  While  thus  employed  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  his  uncle,  George  Robinson,  reached  him,  in  which  was  a  glowing  and 
enthusiastic  description  of  the  wonderful  gold  country  on  the  Eraser  river  in 
British  Columbia,  and  for  a  young  man  of  energy  and  athirst  for  adventure 
this  was  all  that  was  needed  to  lure  him  forth  from  the  quiet  and  serenity 
of  home  surroundings,  and  accordingly  in  1856  he  set  out  to  join  his  uncle, 
who,  as  manager  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  coal  mines  at  Nanaimo, 
had  already  partaken  of  the  glories  of  the  British  Columbia  country.  His 
first  ten  days  in  the  province  were  spent  in  Victoria,  and  since  that  time 
Nanaimo  has  been  almost  continuously  his  place  of  residence  and  the  scene 
of  his  activities.  On  his  arrival  he  worked  at  engine  driving  and  weighing 
coal,  and  then  entered  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  office  as  a  clerk,  con- 
tinuing thus  until  the  whole  Nanaimo  estate  was  sold  to  the  Vancouver  Coal 
Company.  In  1863  he  became  the  successor  of  James  Farquhar  as  account- 
ant of  the  Vancouver  Coal  Mining  &  Land  Company,  Limited,  and  in  1869 


336  .  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

was  promoted  to  the  position  of  local  manager,  remaining  in  that  capacity 
until  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Robins  as  his  successor  in  1884.  In  1886  he 
was  appointed  to  the  office  of  government  assessor,  and  now  for  almost  twenty 
years  he  has  capably  and  honorably  discharged  the  duties  of  this  public  office 
of  trust.  He  was  the  first  mayor  of  iSTanaimo,  serving  from  1875  to  1879, 
from  1 881  to  1886,  from  1888  to  1889  and  from  1898  to  1900,  having  been 
elected  eleven  times  by  acclamation.  In  1878,  in  behalf  of  the  coal  company 
he  gave  the  hospital  site  for  the  city,  also  the  cemetery  site,  and  aided  ma- 
terially the  fire  department  and  many  other  public  and  private  institutions. 
■He  edited  and  partly  owned  in  1866  the  "  Nanaimo  Gazette,"  the  first  paper 
published  at  Nanaimo,  and  also,  being  a  moulder,  turned  out  at  Nanaimo 
the  first  casting  in  iron  ever  made  in  British  Columbia. 

Mr.  Bate  has  a  fine  family  of  bright  and  capable  sons  and  daughters,  and 
of  the  ten  children  born  to  himself  and  wife  eight  are  still  living,  namely: 
Emily,  who  is  in  South  Africa ;  Mark,  Jr.,  who'  is  accountant  in  the  Western 
Fuel  Company's  office ;  Sarah  Ann,  the  wife  of  W.  J.  Goepel,  of  Nelson,  Brit- 
ish Columbia ;  Thomas  Ezra,  in  business  in  Cumberland ;  George  Arthur,  one 
of  the  deceased  sons ;  Lucy  Alicia,  wife  of  Montague  Stanley  Davis,  of  Nel- 
son; Mary  Beatrice  is  the  wife  of  George  Wadham  Bruce  Heathcote,  who  is 
assistant  manager  of  the  Bank  of  Commerce  of  San  Francisco;  William 
Charles,  deceased;  Elizabeth  Ada,  whose  husband,  J.  H.  Hawthornwaite,  is 
present  member  of  the  provincial  parliament  of  Nanaimo,  and  John  Augustus, 
the  youngest.  Mr.  Bate  affiliates  with  Ashlar  Lodge,  No.  3,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
with  Black  Diamond  Lodge,  No.  5,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  The  Church  of 
England  represents  his  religious  faith. 

HON.  W.  NORMAN  BOLE. 

The  Hon.  W.  Norman  Bole,  local  judge  of  the  supreme  court  and  judge 
of  the  county  court  at  New  Westminster,  is  among  the  foremost  representa- 
tives of  the  bench  and  bar  of  British  Columbia,  and  has  the  distinction  of 
being  the  longest  established  legal  practitioner  on  the  mainland  of  British 
Columbia.  He  was  noted  for  the  success  which  he  won  in  important  crim,- 
in'al  cases  as  counsel  for  the  defense,  especially  as  in  many  instances  the  fore- 
most legal  talent  of  the  province  was  arrayed  against  him.  On  the  bench 
his  record  has  been  one  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  judicial  impartiality  and 
fearlessness.  He  has  been  a  factor  in  civic  affairs  generally,  and  in  many 
ways  his  energies  have  been  devoted  towards  assisting  in  the  progress  and 
development  of  the  province. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  337 

In  ancestry  and  family  Judge  Bole  has  some  of  the  advantages  which 
excellent  lineage  and  inherited  character  confer.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  the 
late  John  Bole,  Esq.,  of  Lakefield,  Mayo,  Ireland,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
Jane  Campbell.  His  father  was  for  many  years  deputy  clerk  of  the  Crown 
and  Peace,  besides  filling  several  other  public  offices  of  importance.  Judge 
Bole  is  a  descendant  of  an  old  Surrey  family  who  came  over  with  the  Con- 
queror and  settled  in  Ireland  as  early  as  1520.  On  the  maternal  side  a  branch 
of  the  Campbell  clan  settled  in  the  north  of  Ireland  under  James  the  First. 
One  of  the  Bole  family  was  Archbishop  of  Armagh  and  Primate  of  all  Ire- 
land during  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the  Second,  and  the  same  office  was 
held  by  the  Right  Reverend  Christopher  Hampton,  a  maternal  ancestor,  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Another  ancestor  was  a  captain  in  the 
army  of  William  the  Third  and  fought  at  the  Boyne. 

Judge  Bole  was  born  December  6,  1845,  ^^  Castlebar,  and  was  educated 
partly  by  private  tuition  and  partly  in  a  public  school.  He  passed  his  final 
examination  and  was  admitted  January,  1873.  ^^^  ^  ^^^^  he  had  a  suc- 
cessful practice  in  his  native  country,  and  then  moved  to  the  United  States 
and  from  there  to  Canada,  spending  some  time  in  Quebec.  In  1877  he  came 
to  New  Westminster,  and  in  the  May  assizes  of  that  year  was  admitted  to 
the  British  Columbia  bar,  and  at  once  took  up  active  practice.  He  had  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  lawyer  to  locate  permanently  on  the  mainland.  During 
the  assizes  of  that  first  year  he  successfully  defended  nearly  every  prisoner  on 
trial  and  his  practice  grew  rapidly  from  that  time  on.  He  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  county  court  in  September,  1889,  for  the  district  of  New  West- 
minster, which  then  included  the  city  of  Vancouver,  and  local  judge  of  the 
supreme  court  in  1891,  with  special  powers  in  1892.  He  became  a  Queen's 
counsel  in  May,  1887.  I"  1886  he  contested  the  city  for  the  local  legislature 
at  the  general  election  as  opposition  candidate,  and  defeated  the  government 
candidate  by  a  majority  of  six  to  one. 

Only  brief  mention  can  be  made  of  some  of  the  important  legal  trials  in 
which  Judge  Bole  has  taken  part.  He,  with  the  late  Hon.  A.  E.  B.  Davie, 
Q.  C,  as  associate,  defended  the  celebrated  cause  known  as  the  Scotty  trial, 
wherein  James  Halliday  was  charged  with  the  murder  of  Tom  Poole,  and 
after  a  third  trial  and  a  continuous  hearing  of  nearly  a  month  the  prisoner 
was  acquitted  amid  a  scene  of  wild  rejoicing  and  jubilation.  He  also  de- 
fended McLean  Brothers,  charged  with  the  murder  of  Mr.  Ussher,  govern- 
ment agent  at  Kamloops,  and  after  the  first  trial  got  the  verdict  and  sentence 
set  aside  on  legal  points,  but  at  the  second  trial  the  prisoners  were  convicted 
on   overwhelming  evidence.     Since  his  elevation   to  the  bench  Judge   Bole 


338  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

has  tried  several  important  cases,  notably  that  of  the  Crown  versus  Lobb,  in 
which  the  defendant  was  charged  with  the  murder  of  his  wife.  The  late 
Chief  Justice  McColl  acted  for  the  Crown  and  Mr.  E.  P.  Davis,  K.  C,  for 
the  accused.  After  a  trial  lasting  a  week,  during  which  a  very  large  number 
of  important  legal  points  were  discussed,  the  prisoner  was  acquited  of  the 
charge.  In  Sq^tember,  1894,  Judge  Bole  heard  the  Telford  case,  in  which 
a  doctor  was  charged  with  manslaughter.  This  was  the  first  time  in  Canada 
that  a  prisoner  was  tried  for  manslaughter  by  a  judge  sitting  alone  without 
a  jury.  After  a  trial  lasting  four  days  a  written  judgment  of  acquittal  was 
rendered,  which  met  with  general  approval  outside  the  range  of  his  profes- 
sional and  judicial  duties. 

Judge  Bole,  who  is  a  man  of  energy  and  varied  interests,  has  devoted 
himself  with  zest  to  many  other  lines  of  activity.  For  ten  years  he  was 
president  of  the  New  Westminster  Rifle  Association,  and  he  is  now  president 
of  the  New  Westminster  Gun  Club.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Hastings 
Sawmill  company,  president  of  the  Royal  Columbian  Hospital,  president  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  and  several  other  organizations  and  bencher  of  the  Law 
Society.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Seymour  Field  Battery  of  Artillery  for 
many  years,  and  served  as  captain  of  No.  i  Battery,  British  Columbia  Brigade 
of  Artillery,  from  1884  to  1887.  He  has  been  a  director  and  one  of  the  build- 
ers of  the  New  Westminster  and  Southern  Railway  Company,  and  was  solic- 
itor for  the  Bank  of  British  Columbia  from  its  establishment  in  New  West- 
minster until  his  elevation  to  the  bench.  When  the  Diamond  Jubilee  of  the 
late  Queen  Victoria  was  held  in  1897  Judge  Bole  was  selected  to  deliver  the 
oration  at  New  Westminster,  and  he  then  addressed  an  assemblage  of  five 
thousand  people  in  the  open  air  at  Queen's  Park,  and  his  eulogy  on  the  be- 
loved Sovereign  and  her  reign  was  commented  upon  as  one  of  the  most  elo- 
quent and  impressive  tributes  ever  listened  to  by  a  provincial  audience.  The 
judge  has  been  an  export  yachtsman  and  oarsman,  as  also  a  crack  shot  with 
gun,  rifle  and  pistol.  He  is  a  zealous  Free  Mason  and  a  lay  delegate  of 
the  Anglican  synod  of  New  Westminster. 

On  February  26,  1881,  Judge  Bole  married  Florence  Blanchard,  only 
daughter  of  Major  John  Haning  Coulthard,  justice  of  the  peace  for  British 
Columbia.  Two  children  have  blessed  this  union :  John  Percy  Hampton 
Bole,  now  a  student  at  law,  formerly  a  cadet  in  the  Royal  Military  College, 
Kingston,  and  Garnet  Seymour,  who  died  in  1895.  Judge  and  Mrs.  Bole 
have  a  delightful  residence  in  New  Westminster,  and  they  enjoy  the  high 
esteem  of  a  very  wide  circle  of  friends. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  331^ 

EDWARD  HEWETSON  HEAPS. 

Edward  Hewetson  Heaps,  of  the  firm  of  E.  H.  Heaps  &  Company,  is 
occupying  a  leading  position  as  a  lumber  manufacturer  of  the  province  of 
British  Columbia,  being  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  enterprises  that  have  in 
large  measure  contributed  to  the  upbuilding,  substantial  growth  and  com- 
mercial advancement  of  the  province. 

Mr.  Heaps  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  on  the  26th  of  March,  1851. 
His  father,  Thomas  Heaps,  also  of  Yorkshire,  was  an  architect  and  builder, 
a  devoted  adherent  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  for  fifty  years  a  local 
preacher.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty,  and  left  behind  him  an  example 
for  sterling  integrity,  rigid  uprightness  and  undeviating  adherence  to  all 
that  was  pure  and  true.  He  was  survived  by  his  beloved  wife  for  three 
years.  There  were  five  children  of  the  marriage,  all  today  occupying  posi- 
tions of  respect  and  influence. 

Edward  H.  Heaps,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  youngest  of  his 
father's  family.  He  was  educated  at  the  Egremont  Academy,  conducted  by 
the  Rev.  Robert  Love,  and  upon  completion  of  his  studies  was  apprenticed 
to  the  firm  of  Stead  Brothers,  cotton  brokers,  of  Liverpool,  with  whom  he 
remained  seven  years.  By  steady  and  unremitting  application  to  his  duties 
he  earned  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  employers.  The  firm  would  will- 
ingly have  retained  his  services  and  promotion  was  offered,  but  Mr.  Heaps 
had  decided  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  new  world.  He  remained  in  America 
for  three  years,  learning  the  ways  of  the  country,  and  engaging  variously  in 
farming,  store  keeping,  and  lumbering.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  returned 
to  England,  when  his  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Robinson,  of  Manchester,  took 
place.  For  eleven  years  thereafter  he  resided  in  Manchester,  carrying  on  a 
profitable  business  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  a  natural  development 
of  his  seven  years'  experience  in  the  cotton  trade. 

His  health  failing,  and  there  now  being  a  growing  family  of  children 
with  futures  to  provide  for,  Mr.  Heaps  again  decided  to  try  fortune  in  the 
new  world.  Accordingly,  in  1886,  the  family  left  England  for  America. 
Three  years  were  spent  in  the  eastern  states  and  Canada,  but  believing  that 
the  great  northwest  offered  still  further  business  opportunities,  Mr.  Heaps 
in  1889  brought  his  family  to  British  Columbia.  ,  In  this  province  the  lum- 
ber industry,  with  its  wonderful  future,  attracted  Mr.  Heaps'  attention.  He 
built  a  sawmill,  sash,  door  and  furniture  factory  on  False  Creek.  This  busi- 
ness was  turned  into  a  stock  company,  and  eventually  the  plant  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire.     Mr.  Heaps,  however,  had  previously  established  a  machin- 


340  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

ery  and  mill  supply  business,  under  the  style  of  E.  H.  Heaps  and  Company. 
In  the  course  of  this  business  he  again  became  interested  in  the  manufacture 
of  lumber  and  shingles.  The  business  grew  rapidly,  and  in  the  year  1896 
Mr.  William  Sulley  became  a  member  of  the  firm.  The  business  has  since 
kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  western  Canada,  and  is  now  one 
of  the  largest  concerns  of  the  kind  in  the  province.  The  company  operate 
twx)  large  plants,  viz :  Cedar  Cove  Mills  in  Vancouver,  including  a  modern 
sawmill  with  a  capacity  of  100,000  feet  per  day,  large  sash  and  door  factory, 
planing  mill,  box  factory,  and  the  second  largest  shingle  mill  in  the  province, 
also  well  equipped  blacksmith  and  machine  shops;  and  Ruskin  Mills  on  the 
Fraser  river  at  the  mouth  of  Stave  river,  where  the  firm  owns  the  town  site, 
and  operates  saw,  shingle  and  planing  mills,  general  store,  etc.  Shipments 
are  made  to  the  eastern  and  middle  states,  to  all  parts  of  Canada,  and  to 
foreign  markets.  Employment  is  furnished  to  between  five  and  six  hundred 
men.  Mr.  Heaps  devotes  his  whole  attention  to  the  business,  which  is  con- 
ducted u^xju  modern  lines,  in  keeping  with  the  progressive  ideas  of  the  day. 
His  four  sons,  Edward  Moore,  James  Wilson,  John  and  Arthur  Robinson, 
are  all  engaged  with  their  father  in  the  business.  There  are  besides  three 
daughters,  Kate  Eden,  Constance  Anna,  and  Elsie  Frankland.  The  family 
occupy  a  beautiful  home  at  Cedar  Cove,  the  thriving  little  suburb  which  has 
sprung  intO'  existence  as  a  result  of  the  development  of  industry  at  this  point. 
They  are  connected  with  the  Church  of  England,  and  take  an  active  part  in 
the  furtherance  of  the  affairs  of  All  Saints'  church  at  Cedar  Cove.  Mr. 
Heaps  has  many  friends.  His  honorable  business  methods,  his  unremitting 
diligence,  his  intellectual  strength  and  individuality  have  won  him  well  de- 
served success,  respect  and  esteem. 

JAMES  ANDREW  DOUGLAS. 

James  Andrew  Douglas,  capitalist  and  a  prominent  young  business  man 
of  Victoria,  was  born  in  this  city  on  the  20th  of  February,  1878.  His  an- 
cestry, honorable  and  distinguished,  have  aided  in  shaping  the  history  of 
the  province.  His  grandfather,  Sir  James  Douglas,  was  the  first  governor 
of  the  province  and  a  citizen  of  great  worth,  leaving  the  impress  of  his  indi- 
viduality, his  superior  talents  and  public-spirited  citizenship  upon  the  annals 
of  the  northwest.  His  son,  James  William  Douglas,  was  born  in  Victoria 
on  the  ist  of  June.  185 1,  and  died  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  thirty- 
two  years,  passing  away  November  7,  1883.  He  had  been  educated  in  Eng- 
land and  had  studied  for  the  bar.  -  He  had  inherited  a  very  large  estate 
from  his  father,  which  became  the  property  of  his  widow  and  two  sons.     He 


■/r^f^. 


V  I  V,  II 


/  ;- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  341 

had  married  Mary  Rachel  EHiot,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  A.  C.  ElHot,  who 
was  premier  of  the  province.  Their  younger  son,  John  Douglas,  is  now  pur- 
suing a  college  course,  preparatory  to  becoming  a  member  of  the  medical 
profession. 

James  A.  Douglas,  the  elder  son  and  consequent  heir  to  the  estate,  not 
only  inherited  large  property  interests,  but  also  has  in  his  possession  many 
cherished  heirlooms,  including  the  dress  sword  and  hat  of  his  distinguished 
grandsire.  The  latter,  adorned  with  a  long  white  plume,  he  keeps  with  the 
utmost  care  in  a  glass  case. 

Mr.  Douglas  received  a  liberal  education  in  leading  institutions  of 
learning  in  England,  and  has  increased  his  general  information  by  travel, 
having  journeyed  around,  the  world.  'He  is  now  devoting  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  improvement  and  subdivision  of  that  portion  of  his  estate  in  Vic- 
toria, where  he  and  his  brother  have  two  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land,  a 
part  of  which,  in  the  Fairfield  district,  is  divided  into  two  hundred  and  nine- 
teen residence  lots.  In  block  J  there  are  twenty  lots,  in  block  K  thirty-one 
lots,  each  tract  containing  about  an  acre  and  a  half  and  separated  by  broad 
avenues.  This  property  is  very  beautifully  situated,  a  portion  of  it  over- 
looking the  strait  of  Fuca,  while  the  inland  view  is  also  one  of  great  beauty. 

On  the  30th  of  August,  1899,  Mr.  Douglas  was  very  happily  married  in 
England  to  Miss  Jennie  Isabella  Williams,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Williams, 
Esquire,  of  Portsmouth,  England,  a  retired  army  officer  of  Irish  ancestry. 
The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglas  has  been  blessed  with  a  son,  James 
Donald  Douglas,  born  September  6,  1900.  He  is  a  very  bright,  active  and 
beautiful  boy,  of  whom  the  parents  have  every  reason  to  be  proud.  The 
palatial  home  has  been  erected  in  a  most  attractive  portion  of  the  estate.  It 
is  a  large  handsome  bungalow  which  was  entirely  planned  by  Mrs.  Douglas 
and  indicates  refined  and  superior  taste.  The  site  on  which  the  bungalow 
stands  is  a  somewhat  rocky  eminence,  from  which  there  is  a  beautiful  view 
of  the  valley  below  on  one  side,  while  on  the  other  one  overlooks  the  strait. 
Inasmuch  as  possible,  the  natural  beauty  of  the  forest  has  been  preserved. 
The  lawn  sloping  gently  from  the  house  is  adorned  with  many  varieties  of 
rare  and  choice  shrubs  and  flowers.  The  place  is  called  Lillooet,  the  Indian 
word  for  beautiful.  The  home  is  indeed  ideal,  because  of  its  natural  and 
artistic  beauty  and  also  because  of  its  generous  hospitality,  for  both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Douglas  delight  in  the  society  of  their  host  of  friends. 

Mr.  Douglas  is  very  highly  regarded  as  a  citizen,  and  as  a  business  man 
he  displays  marked  enterprise  and  energy,  devoting  his  attention  with  grati- 
fying result  to  the  control  of  his  extensive  real   estate  operation.     In  his 


342  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

business  transactions,  while  laboring  for  that  success  which  is  the  legitimate 
goal  of  all  business  endeavor,  he  has  also  promoted  the  upbuilding  of  the 
city  along  lines  of  permanent  beauty  and  substantial  architectural  improve- 
ment. 

LOUIS  GREGORY  McQUADE. 

Louis  Gregory  McQuade,  of  the  well  known  firm  of  P.  McQuade  and 
Company,  ship  chandlers  at  Victoria,  is  a  citizen  highly  honored,  not  alone 
for  his  substantial  personal  character,  but  also  for  his  long  connection  with  a 
business  firm  which  is  a  pioneer  in  Victoria  and  has  dealt  in  ship-outfitting 
supplies  for  over  forty-five  years. 

Mr.  McQuade  is  himself  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  born  in 
Albany,  April  28,  1853.  ^^^  father,  Peter  McQuade,  who  came  to  Victoria 
on  the  20th  day  of  July,  1858,  was  a  native  of  Gal  way,  Ireland,  where  he  was 
born  in  1823.  The  father  was  educated  in  his  native  island,  was  married 
there  to  Miss  Bridget  Fitzpatrick,  a  native  of  Dublin,  and  in  1856  he  went  to 
California.  He  was  in  business  in  San  Francisco  for  a  year  or  so,  and  in 
1858  arrived  in  Victoria  and  founded  the  ship  chandler's  establishment  which 
has  ever  since  been  successfully  carried  on  either  by  himself  or  his  son  as 
successor.  Peter  McQuade  was  a  man  of  broad  ability  and  generous  nature, 
and  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  public  affairs  and  was  always  known  for  his 
progressive  citizenship.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Victoria  Stock  Company, 
and  also  director  of  the  Royal  Hospital.  He  died  in  1884  in  his  sixty-first 
year,  and  was  survived  by  his  good  wife,  who  passed  away  in  1886.  They 
were  both  devout  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  the  son's  fam- 
ily also  adhere  to  that  faith.  The  two  daughters  are  sisters  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Ann  at  Montreal. 

Louis  G.  McQuade,  the  only  surviving  son,  was  but  a  child  when  he 
came  to  Victoria,  and  this  city  has  been  the  scene  of  his  youth  and  adult 
activity.  He  was  educated  in  St.  Louis  College  at  Victoria.  He  was  prac- 
tically brought  up  in  his  father's  ship  chandler's  business,  so  that  he  has  well 
prepared  to  assume  the  responsible  management  of  it  at  his  father's  death. 
This  business,  founded  in  the  early  year  of  1858,  has  been  excellently  man- 
aged throughout,  and  has  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city.  Everything 
for  the  complete  outfitting  of  ships  is  carried  in  the  establishment,  and  the 
firm  is  well  known  all  up  and  down  the  coast.  In  addition  to  this  principal 
business  Mr.  McQuade  has  for  the  past  eight  years  owned  a  schooner  which 
he  has  employed  in  the  sealing  business. 

Like  his  honored  father,  Mr.  McQuade  has  made  the  city's  welfare  his 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  343 

own,  and  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  city  have  always  been  regarded 
with  him  as  of  equal  importance  with  the  success  of  his  own  enterprises.  He 
is  an  ex-president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  is  at  present  one  of  the  council- 
ors of  the  board.  In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  Conservative,  but  has 
never  sought  or  desired  office  at  the  hands  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  is 
owner  of  two  fine  residences  in  the  city  as  also  of  other  city  property,  and  has 
carried  on  his  affairs  with  a  large  degree  of  success. 

In  1875  Mr.  McQuade  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Norris,  who.  was  born 
in  Bowmanville,  Ontario.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children, 
all  born  in  Victoria :     Louis,  Anna  and  Peter. 

LAWRENCE   GOODACRE. 

Lawrence  Goodacre,  who  in  his  business  career  has  ever  been  watchful 
of.  the  indications  pointing  to  success  and  through  the  improvement  of  op- 
portunity and  the  employment  of  business  methods  that  neither  seek  nor  re- 
quire disguise,  has  steadily  advanced  until  he  is  now  numbered  among  the 
prosperous  merchants  of  Victoria,   was  born   in   Nottingham,   England,  on 
the  8th  of  October,  1848.     He  pursued  his  education  in  his  native  country 
and  there  learned  the  butcher's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  five  years  after 
coming   to   British   Columbia.     His  brother,   John    Goodacre,    came   to   the 
province  in  1864  and  in  1866,  having  received  favorable  reports  concerning 
the  country  and  its  opportunities,  Lawrence  Goodacre  also  came  and  soon 
afterward   secured  employment  as  a   butcher.     The    Queen's    market    was 
established  in  Victoria  in  1858,  by  Thomas  Harris,  who  was  afterward  mayor 
of  the  city.     Mr.  Hutchinson  became  the  next  owner  and  Mr.  Goodacre  en- 
tered his  employ.     Mr.  Stafford  was  also  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Hutchinson, 
and  after  a  time  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Goodacre  for  the  purpose 
of  buying  out  their  employer  and  carrying  on  the  business  on  their  own  ac- 
count.    They  were  together  for  five  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Mr.  Staf- 
ford died  and  Mr.  Goodacre  then  continued  the  business  alone.     About  three 
years  later  he  was  married  to  the  widow  of  his  former  partner.     For  a  time 
John  Dooley  was  a  partner  of  Mr.  Goodacre  in  the  business,  but  later  the 
subject  of  this  review  became  sole  proprietor  and  remained  alone  until  he 
admitted  his  sons  to  the  business  under  the  present  firm  style  of  Goodacre  & 
Sons.     The  business,  through  the  careful  management  and  honorable  meth- 
ods of  Mr.  Goodacre,  has  become  a  large  and  profitable  one,  the  trade  steadily 
increasing.     They  never  have  any  difficulty  in  retaining  the  trade  of  old  cus- 
tomers and  are  continually  securing  new  patrons. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodacre  have  been  born  two  sons  and  a  daughter, 


344  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

all  natives  of  Victoria.  The  sons,  Samuel  Roy  and  Samuel  W.  S.,  are  both 
associated  with  their  father  in  business  and  are  active  and  capable  young 
business  men.     The  daughter,  Louella  Maude,  resides  with  her  parents. 

In  matters  of  citizenship  Mr.  Goodacre  is  public-spirited  and  progressive 
and  has  been  the  champion  of  many  measure  whose  effect  has  been  far- 
reaching  and  beneficial.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  volunteer  fire  com- 
pany of  Victoria  and  is  now  one  of  the  aldermen  of  the  city,  exercising  his 
official  prerogatives  in  support  of  every  measure  which  he  believes  will  pro- 
mote the  upbuilding  and  substantial  improvement  of  his  adopted  city.  His 
interest  centers  here,  for  he  has  made  it  his  home  through  almost  forty 
years,  maintaining  throughout  the  entire  period  the  reputation  of  being  a 
most  reliable  business  man. 

WILLIAM  WALTER  NORTHCOTT. 

William  Walter  Northcott,  the  assessor  of  the  city  of  Victoria,  British 
Columbia,  where  he  has  resided  for  the  past  twenty-two  years,  dating  his 
arrival  on  the  4th  of  June,  1883,  was  born  in  Bristol,  England,  on  the  ist  of 
June,  1846.  and  is  a  representative  of  old  English  ancestry.  His  father, 
John  Northcott,  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  and  with  his  son,  John 
A.,  emigrated  to  Canada  in  the  year  1853,  the  remainder  of  the  family  com- 
ing the  following  year.  There  he  followed  contracting  and  building,  having 
in  early  life  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  in  his  native  country.  He  married 
Miss  Fanny  Parker,  who  passed  away  in  the  year  1855  in  the  fiftieth  year  of 
her  age.  He  afterward  married  again  and  his  death  occurred  in  1882,  when 
he  was  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  John  and  Fanny  (Parker) 
Northcott  were  valued  members  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  six  children.  By  his  second  marriage  he  had  five  children,  and 
two  of  the  family  now  reside  in  Victoria,  British  Columbia :  William  W.  and 
John  A. 

William  Walter  Northcott  was  only  about  eight  years  of  age  when 
brought  by  his  parents  to  America.  He  resided  in  Belleville,  Ontario,  and 
was  educated  in  its  public  schools,  after  which  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
the  builder's  art  by  working  with  his  father.  Subsequent  to  his  arrival  in 
British  Columbia  he  was  for  a  number  of  years  successfully  engaged  in 
building  operations  in  Victoria,  and  on  the  lOth  of  February,  1890.  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  to  the  position  of  city  assessor  and  for  the  past  fifteen 
years  has  filled  the  office  most  acceptably.  He  is  also  inspector  of  buildings 
and  his  knowledge  of  the  building  trade  splendidly  qualifies  him  for  the 
duties  of  his  office.     In  his  political  views  he  is   Conservative,  but  as  the 


WILLIAM  P.  SAYWARD 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  345 

office  is  one  which  affects  all  of  the  people  he  takes  no  active  part  whatever  in 
.politics  at  the  present  time. 

In  1867  M^-  Northcott  was  married  to  Miss' Olive  Cronk,  a  native  of 
Ernestown,  Canada,  and  they  have  become  the  parents  of  five  children : 
Alice,  noyv  Mrs.  O.  A.  Earley;  Orvilla.  now  the  wife  of  J.  H.  Falconer; 
Elizabeth  Parker,  now  Mrs.  William  Forbes  Robertson ;  Joseph  R. ;  and 
William  Walter,  Jr.  The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Church  of  England 
and  Mr.  Northcott  is  an  active  and  valued  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
in  which  he  has  attained  the  Royal  Arch  degree.  The  sublime  degree  of  the 
Master  Mason  was  conferred  upon  him  in  Belleville,  Ontario,  in  1869,  and 
he  is  now  a  past  master  of  Victoria  Columbia  lodge.  No.  i,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 
Mr.  Northcott  is  widely  and  favorably  known  throughout  the  province,  his 
abilities  well  fitting  him  for  the  position  he  now  occupies.  The  terms  progress 
and  patriotism  might  be  considered  the  keynote  of  his  character,  for  through- 
out his  career  he  has  labored  for  the  improvement  of  every  line  of  business 
or  public  interest  with  which  he  has  been  associated,  and  at  all  times  has  been 
actuated  by  a  fidelity  to  his  country  and  her  welfare. 

JOSEPH  AUSTEN  SAYWARD. 

No  name  figures  more  conspicuously  on  the  pages  of  the  business  his- 
tory of  Victoria  than  Joseph  Austen  Sayward,  and  this  city  also  claims  him 
among  its  native  sons,  his  birth  occurring  here  on  the  17th  of  July,  1862. 
His  father,  William  Parsons  Sayward,  is  numbered  among  the  Victoria  pio- 
neers of  1858.  He  was  a  native  of  the  state  of  Maine,  born  December  9, 
18 18,  and  there  he  received  his  education  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade. 
Subsequently  he  went  to  Key  West,  Florida,  and  was  there  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  until  1849,  when  he  journeyed  to  the  gold  diggings  of  Cali- 
fornia, making  the  journey  in  a  sloop  to  the  Isthmus,  and  thence  on  to  San 
Francisco.  He  was  a  resident  of  that  city  during  all  the  exciting  times  con- 
nected with  the  reign  of  the  Vigilantes,  and  at  all  times  performed  his  full 
share  in  maintaining  law  and  order.  In  the  year  1858  he  came  to  Victoria 
and  erected  a  sawmill  at  Mill  Bay,  and  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
erected  another  in  this  city,  continuing  in  the  prosecution  of  a  successful 
business  until  the  13th  of  July,  1896,  when  he  put  aside  the  active  cares  of  a 
commercial  life  and  has  since  lived  in  quiet  retirement.  Mr.  Sayward  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Ann  Chambers,  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland  and  a  daughter  of 
Bernard  Connor.  She  came  to  the  Province  about  the  same  time  as  her 
husband,  and  her  death  occurred  in  1870,  while  her  husband  still  survives 
and  resides  in  San  Francisco,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  honored 


346  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

and  respected  by  all  who  have  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance.     He  is  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  England,  with  which  Mrs.  Sayward  was  also  con-, 
nected. 

Joseph  A.  Sayward,  the  only  child  of  these  parents,  has  spent  his  entire 
life  in  the  city  of  his  birth,  and  he  early  became  connected  with  hjs  father's 
business,  which  he  has  carried  on  alone  since  the  latter' s  retirement.  He  is 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  sash,  doors  and  other  house  material,  and 
from  its  inception  the  business  has  constantly  grown  in  volume  and  impor- 
tance, keeping  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city.  In  political  matters  Mr. 
Sayward  is  a  Conservative,  and,  although  not  an  active  politician,  is  a  public- 
spirited  citizen  and  advocates  all  measures  of  progress  and  reform,  doing  all 
in  his  power  to  promote  the  general  welfare. 

In  1884  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Sayward  and  Miss  Margaret  Liv- 
ingstone, she  being  a  native  of  Scotland  and  a  daughter  of  Duncan  Living- 
stone. One  daughter  has  come  to  brighten  and  bless  their  home,  Miss  Mar- 
garet Livingstone,  and  the  family  reside  in  one  of  the  delightful  homes  for 
which  Victoria  is  noted,  and  enjoy  the  high  esteem  of  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

SAMUEL  SEA,  Jr. 

Samuel  Sea,  Jr.,  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Sea  &  Go  wen,  dealers  in 
men's  furnishing  goods  in  Victoria.  His  birth  occurred  in  the  city  which  is 
still  his  home,  his  natal  day  being  the  nth  of  May,  1869.  He  comes  of 
English  ancestry  in  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  lines.  The  name  of 
Samuel  has  long  been  a  favorite  one  in  the  family  and  was  worn  by  both  his 
father  and  grandfather,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  England.  His  pater- 
nal grandmother  is  still  living  at  the  very  advanced  age  of  ninety  years. 
Further  mention  is  made  of  Samuel  Sea,  Sr.,  upon  another  page  of  this  work, 
for  he  was  a  pioneer  settler  of  1858,  has  been  prominent  in  business  life  and 
is  well  deserving  of  mention  in  the  history  of  British  Columbia. 

Samuel  Sea,  Jr.,  the  eldest,  pursued  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  city  and  began  his  business  career  as  a  salesman  in  a  dry  goods 
house,  where  he  remained  for  a  year.  He  then  entered  the  Holmes  clothing 
store  and  when  Mr.  Holmes  sold  his  business  to  Mr.  Waller,  the  subject  of 
this  review  remained  as  its  manager  for  six  years.  He  then  bought  out  his 
employer  and  he  continued  the  business  on  his  own  account,  conducting  it 
alone  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  admitted  Frederick  A. 
Gowen  tO'  a  partnership  under  the  present  firm  style  of  Sea  &  Gowen.  Their 
store  is  located  at  No.  64  Government  street,  where  they  carry  a  large  line  of 
men's  furnishing  goods  and  this  house  enjoys  the  largest  trade  of  Lne  kind 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  347 

in  the  city.  Their  store  and  stock  is  up-to-date  in  every  particular  and  both 
gentlemen  are  enterprising  business  men,  representative  of  the  progressive 
spirit  of  the  time. 

Mr.  Sea  is  a  member  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Province,  a  second  vice 
factor  of  the  order  and  v^'as  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Grand  Post,  of  Brit- 
ish Columbia.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Foresters  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  holds 
to  the  religious  faith  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  he  takes  an  active  and 
helpful  interest  in  the  v^elfare  of  the  city,  although  not  figuring  in  political 
circles.  He  is  recognized,  however,  as  one  of  Victoria's  most  careful  business 
men  and  throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  been  connected  with  commercial 
interests  of  the  city,  so  tliat  his  history,  well  known  to  its  residents,  com- 
mands the  respect  and  confidence  of  all. 

FLETCHER  BROTHERS. 

Fletcher  Brothers,  the  well  known  music  dealers  of  Victoria  and  other 
towns  in  the  province  of  British  Columbia,  are  successfully  continuing  a 
business  which  was  established  by  their  father  nearly  forty  years  ago,  and 
which  is  a  pioneer  firm  of  its  kind  in  the  province.  Their  establishment  is 
complete,  and  the  great  variety  of  instruments  and  musical  goods  of  all  kinds 
are  reasonably  priced  and  can  be  relied  upon  to  be  as  represented.  Pianos 
and  organs  of  the  highest  grades  are  kept  in  stock,  besides  all  kinds  of  stringed 
instruments,  mechanical  playing  devices,  graphophones,  phonographs,  a 
large  stock  of  music,  and  everything  in  the  musical  line  may  be  obtained  from 
their  stock  or  by  quick  order  from  the  supply  centers.  The  brothers  are  ex- 
perienced business  men,  and  have  been  trained  from  youth  to  this  line  of 
business,  so  that  their  ample  success  is  justified  and  their  trade  of  the  broad- 
est proportions. 

Fletcher  Brothers  firm  is  composed  of  George  A.,  James  H.  and  Thomas 
C.  Fletcher.  Their  father,  Thomas  W.  Fletcher,  was  born  in  Sheffield,  Eng- 
land, in  1839.  He  came  out  to  Victoria  in  1862,  and  thence  went  to  Cariboo 
county,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Martha  Kelly,  a  native  of  Scotland. 
For  a  time  he  engaged  in  mining  in  the  Cariboo  region,  and  also  kept  a  store 
and  dealt  in  miners'  supplies.  After  three  years,  however,  he  returned  to 
Victoria,  in  1865,  and  established  the  music  house  which  is  now  under  the 
management  of  his  sons.  He  devoted  his  whole  time  to  the  business  and 
gradually  extended  its  operations  and  developed  it  into  the  principal  music 
house  of  the  province.  He  was  a  Methodist  in  religion,  while  his  wife  was 
a  Presbyterian.     They  had  five  children,  all  born,  in  Victoria.     The  gx)od 


348  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

mother  died  in  1893,  but  the  father  still  survives  and  resides  at  Ladysmith, 
being  retired  from  active  duties  and  being  among  the  respected  pioneers  of 
the  province. 

The  eldest  son,  George  A.,  is  the  senior  member  of  the  firm.  He  was 
lx)rn  in  Barkerville,  Cariboo,  in  1872,  and  is  in  charge  of  the  branch  stores 
of  the  firm  at  Ladysmith  and  Nanaimo.  James  H.  Fletcher  was  born  in 
Victoria  in  1874,  and  is  manager  of  the  Victoria  store,  which  is  the  head- 
quarters of  the  business.  Thomas  C.  Fletcher  was  born  in  Victoria  in  1877, 
and  is  the  traveling  salesman  and  piano  tuner  for  the  firm.  William  R. 
Fletcher,  born  in  Victoria  in  1880,  is  a  conductor  on  the  E.  &  N.  Railroad. 
The  brothers  were  all  educated  in  Victoria  and  the  three  eldest  were  brought 
up  in  the  music  house  of  their  father  and  have  known  the  business  from 
boyhood.  They  are  all  justly  proud  of  the  land  of  their  birth  and  take  a 
deep  interest  in  its  prosperity.  James  H.  Fletcher,  who  kindly  furnished 
the  material  for  this  article,  is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Scotland,  the  Native 
Sons  of  British  Columbia,  and  of  the  Foresters. 

JAMES  THOMAS  McILMOYL. 

James  Thomas  Mcllmoyl,  grand  recorder  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen  of  British  Columbia,  is  a  resident  of  more  than  forty 
years'  standing  in  this  province  and  for  many  years  has  been  prominently 
identified  with  the  agricultural,  business  and  public  affairs  of  his  community 
and  province.  He  has  had  a  varied  experience,  in  the  latter  part  almost 
uniformly  successful ;  from  his  early  years  of  mining  he  turned  to  farming 
and  stock  raising,  which  he  followed  for  many  years  with  prosperous  re- 
sults, and  in  addition  to  the  many  duties  laid  upon  him  by  his  private  busi- 
ness he  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  fraternal  and  political  work,  and  is 
well  known  throughout  the  province  in  these  connections. 

Mr.  Mcllmoyl  arrived  in  Victoria  in  May,  1862,  when  he  was  a  young 
man  of  about  twenty-two  years.  He  was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  August 
24,  1840,  and  his  lineage  goes  back  in  old  Scotland  for  three  hundred  years, 
the  family  seat  having  for  many  generations  been  located  in  the  vicinity  of 
Edinburgh.  His  grandfather  Mcllmoyl  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England, 
and  emigrated  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  while  the  colonies  still  adhered 
to  Great  Britain.  At  the  time  of  the  American  revolution  he  remained  loyal 
to  the  king,  and  for  this  reason  left  the  colonies  and  moved  to  Upper  Canada, 
where  he  obtained  lands  from  the  government.  His  son,  James  Disert  Mcll- 
moyl, was  torn  in  Ontario.  He  followed  farming  and  lumbering.  He  was  a 
Presbyterian  and  his  good  wife  a  Methodist.     They  both  attained  advanced 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  849 

ages,  he  passing  away  when  eighty-two  and  she  in  the  same  year  and  aged 
seventy-six.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  three  daugh- 
ters and  the  son,  James  Thomas,  survive. 

Mr.  Mcllmoyl  is  the  only  member  of  the  family  in  British  Columbia, 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Ontario,  and  afterward  served  an 
apprenticeship  in  a  general  store.  After  he  came  out  to  Victoria  in  1862  his 
first  destination  was  the  Cariboo  mining  district,  and  for  the  following  live 
years  he  prospected  and  mined  in  that  region  before  he  became  fully  satisfied 
that  mining  was  not  his  forte  and  that  he  could  make  a  surer  livelihood  in 
some  other  way.  He  then  returned  to  Victoria,  and  in  1870  purchased  the 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  which  he  still  owns.  He  improved  this 
property,  and  was  a  successful  grain  and  stock  farmer  thereon  for  many 
years.  In  1897  he  leased  the  farm  to  his  son,  and  since  then  has  been  re- 
tired from  the  more  strenuous  occupations  of  life. 

He  had  not  been  long  in  this  province  before  he  became  interested  in 
public  affairs.  He  was  elected  and  served  for  four  years  as  representative 
of  the  eighth  district  of  Victoria  in  the  provincial  legislature,  this  district  in- 
cluding his  own  home.  He  was  also  a  prominent  official  of  the  agricultural 
association  for  sixteen  years,  and  was  secretary  of  his  school  district  during 
the  entire  period  of  his  residence  in  the  country.  He  was  appointed  a  justice 
of  the  peace  in  1873,  and  this  appointment  has  never  since  been  revoked. 
In  1883  Mr.  Mcllmoyl  became  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  in  the  ranks  of  which  order  he  has  faithfully  worked  ever  since. 
He  has  almost  constantly  held  some  of  the  offices  of  the  order,  and  has  passed 
through  all  the  chairs.  He  was  elected  master  workman  of  his  lodge  at  the 
meeting  by  which  it  was  organized.  He  has  been  through  all  the  chairs  of 
the  grand  lodge  of  the  province,  and  has  been  a  representative  to  ten  sessions 
of  the  supreme  grand  lodge.  In  1895  he  was  elected  grand  recorder,  the 
office  which  he  is  still  filling  to  the  fullest  satisfaction  of  the  entire  order  in 
this  province. 

In  1870  Mr.  Mcllmoyl  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Ann  Simpson.  She 
was  born  in  Esquimault,  being  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Henry  Simpson,  an  honored 
pioneer  to  the  northwest  coast,  having  arrived  in  1852.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
llmoyl had  eleven  children,  all  born  at  the  home  place  near  Victoria.  The 
eldest,  James  H.,  is  now  running  the  farm;  Nellie,  now  Mrs.  Charles  Post, 
resides  in  Victoria;  Charles  W.  and  Walter  are  also  farmers;  Frank,  who 
was  an  upholsterer,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-five;  George  A.  is  a  bookkeeper, 
and  Frederick  is  in  the  upholstering  business.  The  following  are  at  home 
with  their  father :     Ernie  A.,  Alma  Beatrice,  and  Bertram  and  Robert,  twins. 


850  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

In  1895  ^^^-  Mcllmoyl  suffered  a  sad  bereavement  in  the  death  of  his  wife, 
who  had  been  his  devoted  companion  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  both 
family  and  community  felt  a  deep  personal  loss  in  her  taking  away.  Mr. 
Mcllmoyl  holds  firmly  to  the  faith  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

JAMES  P.  HIBBEN. 

James  Parker  Hibben,  who  in  his  business  career  exemplifies  the  enter- 
prising spirit  which  has  led  to  the  rapid  and  substantial  development  of  the 
northwest,  is  a  native  son  of  Victoria  and  now  a  member  of  the  firm  of  T.  N. 
Hibben  &  Company,  proprietors  of  the  largest  book  and  stationery  store  of 
the  city.  He  was  born  on  the  29th  of  October,  1864.  His  father,  Thomas 
Napier  Hibben,  who  was  the  founder  of  the  store,  came  to  the  province  in 
1858.  He  was  born  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1828  and  crossed  the 
plains  in  1849  '^^  ^  "  prairie  schooner."  At  length  the  long  and  arduous 
journey  was  completed  and  he  engaged  in  mining  in  California.  Later  he 
established  a  book  and  stationery  store  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  carried  on 
business  until  1858,  when  he  sold  to  Bancroft,  the  historian,  who  afterward 
published  Bancroft's  History  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

When  that  business  transaction  had  been  consummated  Thomas  N.  Hib- 
ben came  to  Victoria.  Here  he  met  Mr.  Carswell  and  they  formed  a  partner- 
ship and  purchased  the  Kurskis  book-store,  which  they  conducted  together 
until  1866.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Hibben  purchased  his  partner's  in- 
terest and  continued  the  business  alone,  building  up  an  excellent  trade.  He 
was  at  first  located  on  Yates  street  and  three  years  later  removed  to  the 
present  fine  establishment  in  the  center  of  the  business  district  on  Govern- 
ment street.  From  the  first  his  liberal  and  honorable  management  of  the 
enterprise  secured  a  large  trade,  which  has  continued  to  increase  each  year 
until  the  establishment  is  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  the  city. 

Early  in  the  '60s  Thomas  N.  Hibben  went  to  England,  where  he  was 
happily  married  to  Miss  Janet  Parker  Brown,  a  native  of  Paisley,  Scotland, 
and  he  then  brought  his  bride  to  Victoria,  making  the  journey  by  way  of 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  thence  up  the  Pacific  coast.  Mr.  Hibben  was 
devoted  to  his  family  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to  promote  their  wel- 
fare and  enhance  their  happiness.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  in- 
tegrity of  character,  as  manifest  in  his  business  relations  and  in  his  citizen- 
ship. He  never  sought,  desired  or  held  office,  but  gave  his  entire  attention 
to  the  control  of  his  business  and  the  enjoyments  of  home  life,  and  through- 
out the  city  he  held  the  confidence  and  respect  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
brought  in  contact.     He  departed  this  life  on  the   loth  of  January,   1890, 


THOMAS  N.  HIBBEN. 


(  /.  i  II 


,  ii  (1  ■■,  1 .1  i  ;• 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  351 

amid  the  deep  regret  of  many  friends.  He  had  long  been  recognized  as  a 
valued  citizen,  and  because  of  his  championship  of  many  measures  for  the 
general  good  his  death  came  as  a  public  calamity  to  the  community. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Hibben  had  been  born  four  children,  all  now  grown 
to  adult  age,  namely :  Mary  R.,  the  wife  of  W.  D.  Claussen,  a  resident  of 
California;  Estelle  Theus,  who  became  the  wife  of  T.  Claussen,  a  brother 
of  her  sister's  husband;  Thomas  Napier,  who  resides  in  Victoria  and  is  also 
interested  in  the  book  and  stationery  business ;  and  James  Parker,  who  rep- 
resents his  mother's  and  his  own  interest  in  the  business,  with  William  H. 
Bone  as  partner.  Both  a  wholesale  and  retail  trade  is  carried  on  and  the 
business  has  become  the  most  extensive  in  its  line  in  the  province.  The 
methods  inaugurated  by  the  father  have  always  been  maintained,  and  the 
house  enjoys  an  unassailable  reputation.  James  P.  Hibben  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  business  from  boyhood,  and  in  the  management  displays  ex- 
cellent executive  force,  keen  discernment  and  marked  sagacity. 

The  family  are  Episcopalians  in  religious  faith  and  occupy  a  very  promi- 
nent social  position.  Mr.  Hibben  and  his  brother  are  both  native  sons  of 
Victoria,  prominent  in  its  business  circles  and  devotedly  attached  to  the  city 
of  their  birth. . 

THOMAS  KILPATRICK. 

Thomas  Kilpatrick,  prominent  railroad  man  and  with  extensive  material 
and  civic  interests  in  Revelstoke  and  vicinity,  came  to  this  locality  as  part  of 
the  current  of  activity  which  flowed  westward  with  the  building  of  the  Can- 
adian Pacific  Railway,  and  on  reaching  Revelstoke  remained  to  become  an 
important  factor  in  business  interests  and  in  the  general  welfare  and  prog- 
ress of  interior  British  Columbia.  Mr.  Kilpatrick  has  accomplished  a  well 
deserved  success,  and  is  a  strong,  energetic,  acute  executor  of  all  affairs  in- 
trusted to  his  charge. 

A  native  of  Simcoe,  Norfolk  county,  Chitario,  where  he  was  born  April 
27,  1857,  he  has  since  lost  both  parents,  James  and  Elizabeth  (Netherly) 
Kilpatrick,  under  whose  kind  parental  care  he  was  well  reared  and  trained 
for  a  career  of  honorable  activity  and  usefulness.  He  enjoyed  part  of  his 
education  in  a  private  school  in  Simcoe  and  also  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Norfolk  county.  His  father  being  a  farmer,  he  was  accustomed  from 
earliest  boyhood  to  the  duties  of  a  farm,  and  the  first  twenty-seven  years  of 
his  life  were  spent  on  the  old  homestead.  In  May,  1884,  he  got  into  railroad 
work  and  has  almost  continuously  since  followed  that  line  of  activity.  As  an 
employe  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  the  construction  of  that  great  trunk  road 


352  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

he  landed  in  Revelstoke  in  1885.  In  1893  he  was  appointed  superintendent 
of  the  bridge-building  department  of  this  road,  in  which  position  he  continued 
for  some  years,  and  in  1901  was  promoted  to  superintendent  of  the  division 
from  Laggan  to  Kamloops,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles. 
He  is  also  superintendent  of  the  Simacous  and  Okanogan  branch  and  of  the 
branch  from  Revelstoke  to  Arrowhead.  His  energy  and  devotion  to  the 
welfare  of  the  road  have  gained  him  deserved  promotion  to  responsible  of- 
fices, and  in  the  past  twenty  years  he  has  made  advancement  which  would 
be  creditable  to  any  man.  Mr.  Kilpatrick  has  important  interests  in  mining 
and  in  timber  and  coal  lands  of  the  northwest,  and  both  as  an  executive  and 
as  a  successful  business  man  he  wields  much  influence  in  this  part  of  the  prov- 
ince. 

In  April,  1903,  Mr.  Kilpatrick  married  Miss  Elsie  McKinnon,  of  Prince 
Edward  Island,  and  they  have  one  child,  Thomas  Donald.  Their  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Church  of  England. 

JAMES  ERNEST  SPANKIE,  M.  D. 

Dr.  James  Ernest  Spankie  has  during  the  thirteen  years  which  have 
marked  the  period  of  his  professional  career  met  with  gratifying  success  and 
during  the  years  of  his  residence  in  Greenwood  he  has  won  the  good  will  and 
patronage  of  many  of  its  best  citizens.  He  is  a  thorough  student  and  en- 
deavors to  keep  abreast  with  the  times  in  everything  relating  to  the  discoveries 
in  medical  science.  Progressive  in  his  ideas  and  favoring  modern  methods 
as  a  whole  he  does  not  dispense  with  the  time-tried  systems  whose  value 
has  stood  the  test  of  years. 

Dr.  Spankie  was  born  in  Kingston,  Ontario,  September  22,  187 1,  his 
parents  being  William  and  Margaret  (Langtry)  Spankie,  both  of  whom  are 
now  deceased,  the  father  having  died  in  1896  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-two  years.  The  first  political  meeting  held  by  Sir  John  A.  McDonald 
was  held  in  the  home  of  William  Spankie.  Mrs.  Spankie  was  a  native  of 
New  York  and  died  in  1880. 

Dr.  Spankie  was  a  public-school  student'  in  Kingston,  Ontario,  and  also 
attended  a  private  academy  which  was  a  preparatory  school.  He  studied 
medicine  in  Queens  University,  pursuing  the  full  course  and  being  graduaced 
with  the  class  of  1891.  Previous  to  this  time  he  had  pursued  a  full  course  in 
the  drug  business  and  received  a  diploma  from  the  College  of  Pharmacy  in 
Toronto,  but  desirous  of  entering  upon  the  practice  of  medicine  he  began 
preparation  for  that  in  Queens  University  and  following  his  graduation  there 
he  pursued  a  post-graduate  course  of  study  in  the  Bellvue  Hospital  Medical 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  353 

College  of  New  York  City,  devoting  most  of  his  time  while  in  the  institu- 
tion to  the  subject  of  surgery.  He  practiced  with  his  brother  in  Kingston 
for  a  year,  and  following  his  post-graduate  work  he  returned  to  Kings- 
ton, where  he  remained  for  six  months.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  went  to  Banff  and  assisted  Dr.  Brett  in  a  sanitarium  for  four  years,  gain- 
ing broad  and  practical  experience  there.  The  fall  of  1899  witnessed  his 
arrival  in  Greenwood,  where  he  has  since  remained,  and  in  his  practice  here 
he  has  been  quite  successful.  Concentration  of  purpose  and  a  persistently 
applied  energy  rarely  fail  of  success  in  the  accomplishment  of  any  task  how- 
ever great  and  in  tracing  the  career  of  Dr.  Spankie  it  is  plainly  seen  that 
these  have  been  the  secret  of  his  rise  to  prominence.  In  addition  to  his 
practice  he  is  largely  interested  in  mining,  recognizing  that  the  country 
has  a  brilliant  future  in  store  for  it  in  this  particular. 

In  June,  1903,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Dr.  Spankie  and  Miss  Grace  Isa- 
bel Mulligan,  of  New  York.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  to 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge,  the 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Canadian  Order  of  Chosen  Friends. 
He  is  a  Conservative  in  politics  and  he  contested  the  late  election  for  Parlia- 
ment for  the  Greenwood  district.  He  was  offered  the  unanimous  nomination 
but  refused.  On  the  party  insisting  he  finally  decided  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion but  was  defeated  by  the  influence  of  the  Socialist  party.  He  belongs 
to  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  deeply  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to 
the  social,  intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  his  community.  In  his  pro- 
fessional relations  he  is  connected  with  the  New  York  State  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, the  Ontario  Medical  Association,  the  Northwest  Territory  Medical 
Association  and  the  British  Columbia  Medical  Association,  and  is  inter- 
ested in  everything  that  tends  to  bring  to  man  a  solution  to  the  difficult 
problems  which  continually  confront  the  physician  in  his  efforts  to  check  the 
ravages  of  disease  and  restore  health.  Recognizing  the  benefits  of  a  genial 
atmosphere  as  well  as  of  the  great  remedial  agencies  Dr.  Spankie  always 
brings  to  the  sickroom  a  cordial  sunshiny  disposition  and  has  the  faculty 
of  inspiring  his  patients  with  hope  and  courage. 

MARTIN    J.    O'BRIEN. 

Martin  J.  O'Brien,  prominent  citizen  and  business  man  of  Revelstoke, 
has  spent  all  his  years  since  arriving  at  maturity  in  this  northwest  country, 
and  has  prosecuted  various  enterprises  and  almost  invariably  successfully. 
He  is  a  man  of  much  enterprise  and  energy  sufficient  to  carry  out  well  what- 
ever he  undertakes,  and  he  is  very  influential  in  Revelstoke. 


354  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

Mr.  O'Brien  was  born  in  Frontenac  county,  Ontario,  November  21, 
1862.  His  parents,  James  and  Mary  (Carey)  O'Brien,  are  both  deceased. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  Sydenham  higPi  school, 
and  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  start  out  on  his  own  account  he  was  fairly 
well  equipped  for  a  career.  In  1883,  being  twenty-one  years  old,  he  went 
to  Winnipeg,  and  at  Portage  la  Prairie  was  employed  in  a  grocery  and 
liquor  house  and  also  as  bookkeeper  for  one  year.  He  then  joined  with 
Alex  Mclntyre  in  the  conduct  of  a  wholesale  liquor  business  at  Winnipeg, 
and  continued  this  until  the  spring  of  1886,  when  he  came  to  Donald,  British 
Columbia,  and  engaged  in  the  same  line  of  business  in  connection  with 
Charles  Fox.  Theirs  was  the  first  liquor  store  o.pened  in  the  interior  of  the 
province,  and  Mr.  O'Brien  took  the  first  consignment  of  whiskey  to  British 
Columbia  over  the  prairies  and  with  police  escort.  He  remained  at  Donald 
until  1890,  when  he  went  along  the  line  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway, 
and  for  two  years  was  bookkeei)er  for  a  contracting  firm.  For  the  following 
two  years  he  did  prospecting  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nelson.  In  1894  he 
began  the  manufacture  of  soda  water  at  Vernon  and  also  in  Revelstoke,  and 
his  connection  with  the  latter  city  has  proved  to  be  permanent.  In  1900  he 
organized  the  Revelstoke  Wine  and  Spirit  Company,  of  which  he  is  the  man- 
aging director,  and  the  success  of  this  enterprise  has  been  largely  due  to  his 
energetic  and  shrewd  management. 

In  1899  Mr.  O'Brien  married  Miss  Charlotte  Dunsmuir,  a  daughter  of 
James  Dunsmuir,  of  Stratford,  Ontario.  The  three  children  who  have  come 
to  bless  their  home  are  Gladys,  Lottie  and  Martin,  Jr.  The  family  are  Roman 
Catholics  in  religious  faith.  Mr.  O'Brien  participates  actively  in  municipal 
affairs,  and  during  the  years  1902  and  1903  held  the  office  of  mayor  in  Revel- 
stoke. 

FREDERICK  B.  PEMBERTON. 

Frederick  B.  Pemberton,  whose  real  estate  operations  have  become  ex- 
tensive, making  him  one  of  the  representative  and  successful  business  men 
of  Victoria,  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  this  city.  His  birth  occurred  here 
on  the  26th  of  April,  1865,  his  parents  being  Joseph  Despard  and  Theresa 
Jane  (Grautoff)  Pemberton.  The  mother  was  descended  from  German  an- 
cestry long  resident  of  England,  while  the  father  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ire- 
land, in  1 82 1.  He  acquired  his  education  in  Trinity  College  of  his  native 
city,  and  afterward  studied  civil  engineering  under  the  direction  of  G.  W. 
Hemans,  M.  I.  C.  E.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  was  appointed 
assistant  engineer  on  a  part  of  the  Great  Southern  and  Western  Railroad. 


10  ,v 

I',  (;  0.^1 


I',  II 

1 ,1  /'.  ;i 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  365 

He  was  also  for  some  time  in  the  employ  of  Sir  John  McNeill,  L.  S.  D., 
F.  R.  S.,  M.  I.  C.  E.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  and  afterward  did  engineering  for  the 
E^st  Lancastershire  and  Manchesterbury  &  Rosendale  Railway  Companies. 
He  was  resident  engineer  for  the  Exeter  &  Crediton  Railway  Company  and 
was  for  several  years  professor  of  engineering  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  Col- 
lege in  Cirincester,  leaving  that  institution  in  185 1,  in  order  to  accept  the 
position  of  surveyor  general  of  British  Columbia  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  In  1850  he  had  been  awarded  a  medal  by  the  prince  consort  for 
his  design  for  the  Crystal  Palace. 

After  coming  to  British  Columbia  Hon.  Joseph  D.  Pemberton  took  a 
very  prominent  and  influential  part  in  shaping  the  policy  and  promoting  the 
progress  of  the  province.  He  was  elected  to  the  first  legislative  assembly  of 
Vancouver  Island  and  from  1863  until  1866  he  sat  in  the  executive  council. 
His  ready  appreciation  for  and  recognition  of  opportunity  led  to  his  co-opera- 
tion in  many  measures  that  had  for  their  object  the  general  good,  and  he  like- 
wise assisted  materially  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  province  along  other  lines, 
aside  from  the  legislative.  In  1858  he  laid  out  the  town  of  Derby,  the  pro- 
posed capital  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia.  He  took  up  one  thousand 
acres  of  land,  made  improvements,  and  in  the  midst  of  that  locality  built  a 
fine  residence.  He  became  an  extensive  breeder  of  shorthorn  cattle  and  Clyde 
horses,  being  a  pioneer  of  that  industry  in  his  part  of  the  province,  and  thtis 
he  contributed  directly  to  the  material  progress  of  the  locality  by  introducing 
grades  of  stock  that  advanced  the  prices  of  cattle  and  horses  and  made  a 
better  market  for  the  products  of  the  farm.  In  1863  he  returned  to  England 
for  his  wife,  whom  he  brought  with  him  to  his  new  home  near  the  Pacific. 
They  became  the  parents  of  six  children,  all  born  in  Victoria,  namely :  Joseph 
D.,  who  is  residing  in  the  Northwest  Territory;  W.  P.  D.,  who  is  engineer 
for  a  large  coal  mining  company;  Ada  G.,  now  Mrs.  H.  R.  Beaven;  Sophia 
T.,  at  home;  and  Harriet  S.,  also  at  home.  The  father  departed  this  life  on 
the  nth  of  November,  1893,  '"  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age,  while 
Mrs.  Pemberton  is  still  living. 

Frederick  B.  Pemberton,  after  acquiring  his  preliminary  education  in 
the  province,  was  sent  to  England,  where  he  continued  his  studies  in  the 
University  College  of  London,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  with 
the  class  of  1886,  having  completed  a  course  in  civil  and  mechanical  engineer- 
ing. He  followed  that  profession  for  some  time  after  his  return  to  Victoria, 
but  later  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  with  his  father,  in  which  he  has 
since  continued,  meeting  with  eminent  success.  He  is  now  rated  as  one  of 
the  most  reliable,  prosperous  and  enterprising  business  men  of  his  native  city, 


356  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

controlling  many  important  realty  negotiations  and  having  a  clientage  in  the 
line  of  his  chosen  vocation  that  makes  his  business  a  very  prosperous  one. 

Moreover,  as  a  citizen,  Mr.  Pemberton  is  entitled  to  the  regard  of  his 
fellow  men,  because  of  the  active  and  helpful  co-operation  he  has  given  to 
many  movements  which  have  resulted  in  benefit  to  the  city.  He  is  a  director 
of  the  Provincial  Royal  Jubilee  Hospital.  Prominent  socially,  he  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Horticultural  Society,  the  Golf  Club  and  the  Hunt  Club,  and  in 
the  fall  of  each  year  he  enjoys  a  hunting  trip  and  now  has  a  large  collection 
of  the  fine  specimens  of  the  game  he  has  killed.  He  owns  a  number  of  valu- 
able hunting  dogs  and  fine  riding  horses,  and  also  has  draft  horses  of  the 
Clydesdale  strain. 

Mr.  Pemberton  was  married,  on  the  29th  of  November,  1893,  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  D.  Bell,  a  native  of  Toronto,  Canada,  and  they  have  five  children, 
all  born  in  Victoria,  namely :  Frederick  Despard,  Armine  Morris,  Warren 
C,  Phillipa  Despard  and  Mab  O'Herne.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Church  of  England  and  occupy  an  enviable  social  position.  Mr.  Pemberton 
has  erected  a  most  attractive  home,  which  he  has  appropriately  named  Mont- 
joy. 

JAMES    I.    WOODROW. 

,  James  I.  Woodrow  has  been  engaged  in  the  butcher  business  at  Revel- 
stoke  and  also  extensively  interested  in  mines  in  the  vicinity  since  1891,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  highly  respected  and  successful  men  of  interior  British 
Columbia.  He  has  spent  most  of  his  active  life  in  this  province,  where  he 
has  proved  himself  able  and  enterprising  in  business  affairs,  a  man  of  absolute 
integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose,  and  of  recognized  worth  as  an  individual 
and  as  a  factor  in  the  community  affairs. 

Mr.  Woodrow  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  November  30,  1864. 
His  father,  Charles  Woodrow,  is  still  living  as  a  respected  old  citizen  of 
Hampshire,  England,  but  his  mother,  Matilda  (Sebastian)  Woodrow,  is  de- 
ceased. After  passing  through  the  ordinary  school  branches  in  Berkshire 
and  then  attending  a  grammar  school,  which  completed  his  educational  equip- 
ment for  life,  Mr.  Woodrow  gave  hnnself  to  the  serious  business  of  gaining 
a  livelihood,  and  in  1888  came  out  tO'  British  Columbia.  He  was  at  Vancouver 
a  time,  worked  on  the  Eraser  river  bridge  at  Mission  Junction,  took  up  farm- 
ing at  Nicomen  and  after  continuing  that  a  brief  season  went  to  work  for 
his  cousin.  J.  C.  Woodrow,  at  Vancouver,  in  the  meat  business.  Leaving 
Vancouver  he  went  to  Quilchena  in  Nicola  valley,  where  he  operated  a  ranch 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  opened  a  butcher  shop  in  Kamloops.     In   189 1, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  857 

as  mentioned  above,  he  started  his  butcher  business  in  Revelstoke,  and  has 
since  continued  it  with  .increasing  success  and  is  the  leading  man  in  that 
occupation  in  this  vicinity.  He  has  mining  interests  in  this  district,  and  has 
prosecuted  his  business  career  with  an  excellent  meed  of  success. 

In  1898  Mr.  Woodrow  married  Miss  Katherine  Edith  Dunn,  whose 
father,  John  Dunn,  was  a  resident  of  Woolton  Hill,  Hampshire,  England. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woodrow  have  two  children,  Roger  Dunn  and  Leon  Prevost. 
Mr.  Woodrow  fraternizes  with  Revelstoke  Lodge  No.  25,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  England. 

FREDERICK    CARNE. 

Frederick  Carne,  who  is  one  of  the  representative  business  men  of  Vic- 
toria, prominently  engaged  in  the  retail  grocery  trade,  has  made  his  home 
in  this  city  since  1864,  covering  a  period  of  forty  years.  He  was  born  in 
Burealstone,  Devonshire,  England,  August  18,  1856,  and  for  many  genera- 
tions his  ancestors  resided  in  that  country.  His  father,  Frederick  Came,  was 
a  native  of  Lescord,  Cornwall,  England,  and  was  there  reared  and  educated. 
In  the  place  of  his  nativity  he  married  Miss  Harriet  Pearce,  of  Sudruth, 
Cornwall.  He  was  a  miner  by  occupation  and  leaving  his  native  country  he 
went  to  the  mining  districts  around  Lake  Superior  and  afterward  to  Cal- 
ifornia, arriving  in  the  latter  state  in  1856.  In  1858  he  went  to  the  Eraser 
river,  attracted  by  the  gold  discoveries  along  that  stream  and  he  met  the 
usual  experiences  of  the  early  miner,  at  times  securing  a  large  amount  of  gold 
and  then  again  investing  it  in  a  search  for  a  greater  measure  of  the  precious 
metal.  Carnes  creek  was  named  in  his  honor,  he  being  one  of  the  pioneer 
prospectors  in  that  locality.  He  prospected  in  Cariboo  and  throughout  that 
mining  region  and  in  the  Big  Bend  country.  Later  he  returned  to  Vic- 
toria and  there  joined  his  family,  who  had  come  to  British  Columbia  from 
England  in  1864.  About  that  time  he  purchased  the  Angel  Hotel,  which  he 
conducted  successfully  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  April, 
1904,  when  he  was  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  For  forty  years  he 
had  b«een  a  popular  and  well  known  hotel  proprietor  of  Victoria.  He  had  a 
very  wide  acquaintance,  enjoying  the  friendship  of  many  citizens  of  Vic- 
toria as  well  as  of  the  traveling  public.  His  wife  still  survives  him  and  is 
yet  conducting  the  hotel.  Mr.  Carne  v/as  one  of  the  prominent  members 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  was  a  worthy  and  honorable 
citizen.  In  the  family  were  the  following  children:  Elizabeth,  now  the 
wife  of  J.  L.  Crimp;  Amelia,  the  wife  of  A.  D.  Whittier;  Mary  Jane,  the 
wife  of  J.  A.  Grant;  and  Frederick. 


358  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of  Frederick  Carne  we  present  to  the 
readers  of  this  volume  the  record  of  one  who  has  a.  wide  acquaintance  both 
through  business  connections  and  socially.  He  acquired  his  education  in 
\^ictoria  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  entered  upon  his  business  career  as  an 
employe  in  the  store  of  David  Spencer,  who  carried  a  line  of  books  and 
notions.  He  there  remained  for  two  years,  after  which  he  entered  the 
grocery  store  of  A.  Rickman,  with  whom  he  remained  for  twelve  years, 
acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  grocery  business.  His  careful  hus- 
banding of  his  resources  enabled  him  in  1884  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own 
account  and  he  opened  a  store  in  the  Odd  Fellows  Block  on  Douglas  street. 
Later  he  removed  to  Johnson  street  and  in  1894  established  his  business  at 
his  present  location.  No.  18  Yates  street.  For  the  past  twenty  years  he  has 
l3een  one  of  the  successful  merchants,  developing  a  profitable  commercial  enter- 
prise through  the  honorable  methods  and  earnest  desire  to  please  his  patrons. 
He  enjoys  the  thorough  confidence  of  his  customers  by  reason  of  his  straight- 
forward dealings  and  among  his  patrons  are  numbered  many  who  have 
given  him  their  business  support  since  he  started  out  for  himself.  In  con- 
nection with  two  others  he  is  also  engaged  in  the  sealing  trade  and  is 
the  owner  of  three  schooners. 

In  October,  1885.  Mr.  Carne  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Agties 
Gowan,  a  native  of  Victoria  and  a  daughter  of  Charles  King,  a  respected 
pioneer  of  this  city.  They  have  had  six  children,  of  whom  five  are  living, 
all  born  in  Victoria :  August,  Fred,  Marjory,  Harold  and  Agnes.  Theirs  is 
one  of  the  pleasant  homes  of  Victoria,  attractive  in  ap;pearance  and  noted 
for  its  generous  hospitality.  Mr.  Carne  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen  and  of  the  IndqDendent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in 
w^hich  he  has  passed  all  the  chairs.  He  and  his  wife  favor  the  Methodist 
church,  although  they  are  not  members  thereof.  Mr.  Carne  is  a  very  active 
and  creditable  business  man,  highly  deserving  of  the  success  which  has  come 
to  him,  his  prosperity  having  been  won  by  close  application  and  unremitting 
attention  to  his  business.  He  commands  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  is 
associated  by  reason  of  his  sterling  worth. 

WILLIAM    SINCLAIR    GORE. 

William  Sinclair  Gore,  of  Victoria,  is  deputy  minister  of  lands  and  works 
for  the  province  of  British  Columbia  and  has  had  a  very  successful  and 
broadly  useful  career  as  a  civil  engineer  and  government  official,  extending 
over  forty  years.  He  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory and  the  province  of  British  Columbia,  his  work  having  taken  him  over 


^^^/-i^^^-^c^^h^t^^-^ 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA  359 

a  great  part  of  this  country,  and  his  skill  and  efficiency  have  given  him  a 
high  rank  in  the  civil  service  of  the  provincial  government. 

Mr,  Gore  was  born  in  London,  Ontario,  June  29,  1842.  He  is  of  good 
old  Irish  lineage,  being  a  descendant  of  the  Earls  of  Arran.  His  father, 
Thomas  Sinclair  Gore,  was  born  at  Goremount,  County  Antrim,  Ireland, 
and  married  Miss  Harriet  Hitchcock,  a  native  of  the  same  county.  After 
their  marriage  they  came  out  to  Canada,  in  1841,  where  Mr,  Gore  followed 
the  profession  of  civil  engineer. 

Mr.  Gore  and  his  brother,  Thomas  Sinclair  Gore,  are  the  only  members 
of  the  family  in  British  Columbia.  Mr.  Gore  had  excellent  educational 
privileges  in  his  youth,  part  of  his  early  training  having  been  received  in 
Dublin,  Ireland.  He  was  also  at  school  in  Barry,  Ontario.  He  decided  to 
follow  the  profession  of  his  father,  and  took  a  course  in  civil  engineering  at 
Toronto,  where  he  received  his  diploma  as  a  Dominion  land  surveyor  in* 
1863.  For  a  num.ber  of  years  he  was  employed  in  railroad  construction  in 
the  United  States,  until  he  received  an  appointment  from  the  Dominion  gov- 
ernment as  a  surveyor  of  the  lands  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This 
work  took  him  all  through  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  after  it  was  com- 
pleted he  received  the  government  appointment  as  surveyor  general  of  the 
province  of  British  Columbia.  In  189 1  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
deputy  minister  of  lands  and  works  for  this  province,  which  he  has  since  ad- 
ministered to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

In  1868  Mr.  Gore  married  Miss  Jennie  Blodgett,  a  native  of  the  state 
of  Massachusetts.  They  have  two  sons  :  Thomas  Sinclair  Gore  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  Arthur  Sinclair  Gore  is  in  the  provincial 
government  service.  Their  home  in  Victoria  is  one  of  the  many  pleasant  and 
delightful  residences  of  this  city  of  homes,  and  the  house  is  surrounded  by 
trees  and  flowers,  and  everything  indicates  the  good  taste  and  cheerful  nature 
of  these  honored  and  esteemed  citizens. 

JOHN  HENDRY. 

In  the  history  of  the  wonderful  development  of  the  northwest  no  name 
stands  forth  more  conspicuously  or  honorably  than  that  of  John  Hendry,  for 
he  has  been  the  promoter  of  business  interests  which,  while  advancing  his 
individual  prosperity,  have  been  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  province.  He 
is  to-day  president  of  the  Vancouver,  Westminster  &  Yukon  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  also  president  of  the  British  Columbia  Mills,  Timber  &  Trading 
Company,  the  latter  being  the  oldest  and  largest  enterprise  of  the  kind  in 
the  northwest.     He  belongs  to  that  class  of  men  who,  because  of  their  recog- 


360  BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

nition  of  business  possibilities,  their  executive  force  and  celerity  in  action, 
have  become  known  in  this  great  age  of  commercial  and  industrial  activity 
as  promoters,  and  who  are  the  real  founders  and  builders  of  industries  and 
cities. 

John  Hendry,  spending  his  boyhood  days  in  his  parents'  home,  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  New  Brunswick,  and  there  learned  mill 
engineering,  after  which  he  went,  in  1872,  by  way  of  California,  to  British 
Columbia,  and  soon  afterward  turned  his  attention  to  milling  at  New  West- 
minster. He  also  assisted  building  a  mill  at  Moodyville,  superintending  its 
construction,  and  was  thus  closely  associated  with  the  pioneer  development 
of  business  enterprises  in  this  section  of  the  country.  In  1875  he  returned 
to  Manitoba,  but  soon  afterward  again  came  to  British  Columbia  and  en- 
gaged in  business  on  his  own  account  in  Nanaimo.  Again  locating  in  West- 
minster, he  followed  the  fortunes  of  that  city  for  some  time,  and  as  soon  as 
Vancouver  gave  promise  of  rapid  and  substantial  development  he